DMHS SEEKS HOSPITAL MONITORS
The New Jersey Division of Mental Health Services (DMHS) is establishing a new program to monitor the quality of care in New Jersey’s state psychiatric hospitals. Mental health advocates, including family members and mental health consumers, are invited to an orientation on July 31 to learn about this program and how they can become involved in the monitoring process.
See the letter below from Gregory P. Roberts, Assistant Director Office of State Hospital Management for further details.
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July 8, 2010
Dear Colleague:
The Division of Mental Health Services is very pleased to announce the establishment of a new program aimed at improving the quality of care and treatment in the State Hospital system.
This innovative program supports the notion that mental health professionals and families, working together, can strengthen the power of advocacy. We aim to produce concrete, positive improvements in the delivery of services and in the conditions of treatment.
Modeled after existing Family Monitoring programs which have existed since the 1980’s, this program incorporates the processes of the Patient Services Compliance Unit, and of the court – appointed Doe v Klein Committee that monitored conditions at Greystone from 1975 to 2009.
By participating in this program, monitors will become better educated about all facets of the hospital environment and thus be able to provide feedback to the administration, in a collaborative fashion.
It is important to note that this new program has a Division wide focus - - - each hospital will be consistently monitored and evaluated by a trained group of advocates, including family members and mental health consumers, who will utilize the same evaluation tools in each hospital.
The findings from across the hospital system will be aggregated in order to identify broad-based systemic issued and problems.
We will convene meetings on a quarterly basis, in a central location, to analyze this information, with an eye toward the development of effective corrective action plans.
The results of the monitoring visits will be shared with Division level staff, and will form basis of positive change in the State hospitals.
Participants in the program will be required to complete a brief orientation/training program which has been scheduled for July 31, 2010, at 10am, Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, Stratton Building Gymnasium. Once completed, monitors will be expected to visit any of the hospitals on an unannounced basis, usually working in pairs.
We sincerely hope that you will be able to consider participating in this exciting program. Please indicate your interest by calling me at 609-777-0757, e-mailing me at groberts@dhs.state.nj.us, or by writing to me at Capital Center, PO Box 727, Trenton, NJ 07625-0727.
Sincerely,
Gregory P. Roberts, Assistant Director
Office of State Hospital Management
