Creative Health Services, Inc. provides quality behavioral healthcare designed to empower and promote wellness for individuals, families and communities.

History, Values & Vision History, Values & Vision Creative Health Services, Inc.

History

Founded in 1957, Creative Health Services, Inc. is a non-profit agency which provides caring and professional behavioral healthcare to individuals in need of recovery and personal wellness. Initially, we provided outpatient counseling and medication management to
low-income members of the community. Over the past 50 years we have grown into a multi-service, multi-site organization serving over 5,000 adults, children and families each year throughout the Tri-County region. In addition, we maintain active collaborations with ten area school districts, the judiciary system, several United Ways, the Tri-County Community Nnetwork, and other human service agencies.

Mission

Creative Health Services provides quality behavioral healthcare designed to empower and promote wellness for individuals, families and communities.

Vision

We strive to be known as a destination of choice for persons in need of high quality behavioral healthcare. Creative Health Services, Inc. believes in the ability of all people to recover from the difficulties placed before them. We know that a successful and healthy community is one which encourages equality and interdependence among all of its components. We envision a future where all members of community are valued and welcome contributors, where children are nurtured to their full potential, and where no one is denied access to that which they need for success. As an integral part of this, we believe in helping members of our community achieve a balanced life, one full of purpose and productivity

Service Values

  • Balance
    Achieving an individualized balance between work, family, community, and other personal interests is critical to a healthy lifestyle.

  • Productivity
    The work we do helps people become or remain contributors toward the betterment of society. Every child and adult, regardless of level of impairment, is capable of being productive.

  • Healing
    Healing involves not only a reduction or removal of problematic symptoms, but also the development of
    internal and external supports

  • Community
    The community as a whole creates the environment in which persons grow and succeed. As behavioral healthcare providers, we are fully committed to helping develop a community that embraces and supports all members.

  • Competency
    Creative Health staff are competent, diverse, hard-working and caring individuals committed to the mission and core values of the agency and dedicated to the people and communities we serve.
 
  • Wellness
    Health and wellness begins in the home and incorporates all aspects of life. Focusing on wellness allows individuals and families to grow and move forward. To that end, we strive to provide services where and when they are most needed in a manner which fosters family and wellness.

  • Recovery
    We believe all persons who come to us have the ability to achieve a full, satisfying life. Limitations placed before us are challenges rather than barriers to success

  • Resiliency
    Resilience is a basic human capacity. Resiliency is promoted in children by the environment in which they reside, and the words and actions of their caregivers. In a relatively healthy environment, children are encouraged to become increasingly autonomous, independent, responsible, empathic, humane and to approach people and situations with hope, faith and trust. Resilient children and adults learn to communicate with others, solve problems, and successfully handle negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

  • Advocacy
    In order to promote a community that is supportive of all members, Creative Health engages in advocacy for the
    efforts of those persons in need of specialized services.
 
 
 
 

Organizational Values

Creative Health respects and celebrates the uniqueness of each person who comes for help. 

  • Stability and Sustainability
    To provide effective and timely behavioral health services, we must maintain and continuously develop a stable organizational system that will remain in existence for as long as we are needed.

  • Personal Health and Balance
    We are at our most effective when as an organization and as individuals we seek and promote personal health and wellness in our coworkers and ourselves, and a healthy balance between work, family and personal life.

  • Recovery
    Just as recovery is not a linear process for individuals, as an organization we know that we will have periods of success and periods of setback. Just as we support those we serve during times of need, so to do we work towards recovery as an agency.

  • Partnership
    In order to best serve our community, we maintain a willingness to collaborate with others to achieve common goals.
 
  • Fiscal Responsibility
    We operate in an environment where need for service far exceeds existing fiscal resources. We must carefully and responsibly manage existing resources while also seeking opportunities for fund raising and increasing service efficiency. We also hold as a core value the recruitment and retention of quality staff and devote significant resources to this end. It is our responsibility to use our best efforts to attempt to help every person who comes to us for assistance regardless of his or her financial resources.

  • Growth
    Creative Health maintains a willingness to grow and support programs and services the community needs.

  • Community
    We exist to serve members of the community. As part of this, we strive, both personally and collectively, to be a positive presence in the areas where we work and where we live.

  • Interdependence
    To successfully carry out our mission, we recognize the need to function as an interdependent organization. We work to support each other, knowing that the people we help are better served when supported by a healthy and cohesive team.
 
 
 
 

Our vision for the future: 

In September 2008, Creative Health Services, Inc. completed development of it's new headquarters and main service location at 11 Robinson Street, Pottstown.  This location revolutionizes the services offered to the community.

The 43,000 square foot facility was completely gutted and redesigned, incorporating green building concepts, and service innovations every step of the way. The overall design concept was to create an innovative and attractive space for collaborative health service that was markedly different from typical community service providers. This included space layout, lighting design, noise control, material choices and overall interior design. We have been told by members of the National Council for Behavioral Health that this attention has resulted in the creation of one of the most attractive, unique, and innovative spaces for treatment and recovery in the country. The reaction from our partners and constituents has been overwhelmingly positive. Perhaps the highest compliment was offered when one member of the National Alliance on Mentally Illness stated, “I feel like I am beginning to recover just by walking in here.”

Early in the design process, we began referring to the building as a health services center, rather than by its separate occupants. The concept for this location is collaboration and partnership thereby creating a "no wrong door" of approach to care.  As part of this philosophy, Creative Health Services has brought in additional tenants, beyond Community Health and Dental Care, that complement our mission and vision. These include the regional office of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the area field office of NAMI of Montgomery County, and QOL Meds. QOL Meds is a company that operates pharmacies within community mental health centers. This full service pharmacy is available on-site to any person who comes to 11 Robinson Street. If a person chooses to utilize QOL Meds, they can opt to have not just their behavioral health medications filled here, but their primary care medications as well.

To summarize, at 11 Robinson Street are the following services and entities:

  • Creative Health Services, Inc.
    • Administration
    • Mental Health Outpatient Services
    • Drug and Alcohol Outpatient Services
    • Case Management Services
    • Intensive Outpatient Services
    • Peer Support Services
  • Domestic Violence and Police Liaison Services
  • Community Health and Dental Care
  • The United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania
  • NAMI of Montgomery County
  • QoL Meds

For more pictures of the facility please click here, and the grand opening video, can be viewed by clicking here.

 Why the facility design is important to us:

The reason for this review of the physical space as an introduction to the facility is to highlight that tremendous pieces are in place to provide cutting edge and transformative healthcare to a traditionally fragmentally served and high need population.  This new location is the first step of many to develop new and stronger collaborative partnerships and integrated care opportunities.

The co-location of primary care along with behavioral health offers significant advantages to the community and tremendous opportunity to both access persons with behavioral health difficulties who present in primary care (the majority of the population) and to enhance healthcare for persons in treatment for mental health and/or drug and alcohol services.

The case for integration of primary care and behavioral health is quite strong:

  • "Primary care is our best venue for improving population health and for controlling medical cost."  The impending Collapse of Primary Care Medicine and its Implications for the State of Nation's Health Care:  A Report from the American College of Physicians, January 30, 2006.
  • A Study of 500 consecutive patients at the Marillac Clinic (a federally qualified health center) found that 24% met the criteria for major depression, 16% for panic disorder, 21% for other anxiety disorders, 17% for alcohol abuse.  Overall, 52% of the 500 patients walking through the doors of the health center met the diagnostic criteria for a behavioral health diagnosis.  Introduction to Primary Care Behavioral Health, 1/25/2008. Alexander Blount, Ed.D.
  • Prevalence of unhealthy behaviors in primary care:  Introduction to Primary Care Behavioral Health, 1/25/2008. Alexander Blount, Ed.D.
    • Smoking 25%
    • Obesity 30%
    • Sedentary lifestyle 50%
    • Non-adherence 20-50%
  • Persons with serious mental illness die, on average, 25 years earlier than the general population.  At least sixty percent of premature deaths in persons with schizophrenia are due to general medical conditions.  People with SMI also suffer from a high prevalence of modifiable risk factors, in particular obesity and tobacco use.  Compounding this, people with SMI have poorer access to established monitoring and treatment guidelines for physical health conditions.  An Avoidable Tragedy - The Relationship of Premature Death and Serious Mental Illness. National Council Fact Sheet - June 2007.
  • To transform the fragmented and poor system of care for persons with behavioral health problems, early behavioral health screening, assessment, and referral to services must be common practice.  As part of this, effective behavioral health treatments must be better utilized in primary care settings.  President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2001.
  • About 50% of care for common mental disorders was delivered in general medical settings.  However, many subsequent studies have shown that these disorders may be undiagnosed or undertreated.  Regier DA, et al. The de facto US mental and addictive disorders service system.  Epidemiologic catchment area prospective 1-year prevalence rates of disorders and services.  Archives of General Psychiatry 1993 (50): 85-94.
  • Community health centers serve people who need better access to behavioral healthcare.  Background Paper: Behavioral Health/Primary Care Integration Models, Competencies, and Infrastructure. National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, May 2003.
  • Behavioral health interventions in a primary care setting effective after 3.2 visits as compared to 6.2 visits in a separate specialty mental health care program.  Developing a Behavioral Health System of Care.  Simpson, R. (1998) in Blount, A. (Ed.)  Integrated Primary Care:  The Future of Medical and Mental Health Collaboration. NY: WW Norton.
  • Although alcohol use and abuse cause exceptional health problems across all segments of the population, only 23% of binge drinkers receive advice about alcohol from their primary care physicians.  The scope of the Problem and the Case for Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment.  Counter Details, a publication of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, 2008.
  • A survey of 2000 persons diagnosed with mental illness, and their primary care physicians, found that 69% of PCP's believed they adequately explained symptoms and treatment while only 16% of the consumers reported that their PCP did so.  Advocacy for Better Care: What our patients want us to know. S.Bergeson. Collaborative Family Healthcare Association Annual Conference Plenary Session.  Collaboration:  Key to the Medical Home (2008).
  • "A recent study of adults discharged from psychiatric hospitalizations found 20% with chronic and serious health conditions... As many as 75% of individuals with schizophrenia have been found to have high rates of serious physical illnesses, such as diabetes, respiratory, heart, and/or bowel problems and high blood pressure.  High rates were also seen for vision (93%), hearing (78%), and dental (60%), problems...Despite such extensive medical needs, adults with serious mental illnesses often do not receive (primary care) treatment."  Get it Together:  How to Integrate Physical and Mental Health Care for People with Serious Mental Disorders.  Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (2004).
  • Depression is associated with increased medical complications and poor treatment adherence.  A review of Medicaid recipients in Colorado found comorbidity of depression and diabetes (46%), asthma (50%), and heart disease (54%).  These consumers were among the highest utilizers and highest risk in the Medicaid population studied.  Main Outcomes for a Medicaid HMO Population with Multiple Medical and Psychiatric Comorbidities.  J.Waxmonsky.  Collaborative Family Healthcare Association Annual Conference (2008).

More information on integrated care can be found here.