This is Emergency Services as its Defined on a Community Services Boards' Web Site

Emergency Services/Crisis Counseling is a State mandated program. This unit provides short-term crisis counseling and referrals to individuals on an emergency basis. Emergency and crisis response services include: telephone interventions; face-to-face assessments and evaluation (including pre-admission screening); psychiatric consultation and other clinical consultation about mental health, substance abuse, and special populations which include children, adolescents, geriatric, people with mental retardation, and individuals involved in the forensic system. Emergency Services/Crisis Counseling is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Everything on this website has been thoroughly examined, reviewed, evaluated, and ultimately approved by The Citizens’ Committee for the Advancement of Rational Thought and Actions in Virginia's Mental Health System….


Things Sure Aren't What They Used to be..Conditions Sure Have Changed

coming soon........

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Ah, So Much For Government Efficiency

OK. We have eight full time and four part time employees. So, let's just say there are ten employees. Now, we have two supervisors. Their official titles I will not put here; however, these are folks who we call when we need certain types of admissions or on the rare occasion of a difficult case we're trying to take care of. The unit basically runs itself and we rarely, other than getting an admission approved, ask for supervisor-type help. Neither of these folks..well, go out in the field. In other words, they don't produce our product, so to speak. They are both delightful and well liked by all of us. In fact, if we were given the choice of who we would have for two supervisors, we would chose the ones who we have. That's about as nice a compliment as you can give....
However, their entire working lives are made up of going to meetings. Yep, meetings......and meetings...and meetings.....well, you get the idea. Sadly, from the perspective of those of us at the absolute bottom of the food chain....nothing ever changes. It all just continues on with the same ongoing daily problems. I guess in fairness, I must say that the overall environment that we work in just doesn't lend itself to change. Beneficial change would come by all of us involved in the process, hospital staff, police officers, paramedics, and so on getting together and working on making the system as efficient and smooth working as possible; the primary goal being to serve the mentally ill of the community. Oh, well.....
Where was I?
OK. While I'm well....venting a little, maybe....
It seems changes in our working and office environment come from above...yep, those folks who are so removed from what we do that they haven't a clue. But, they will make changes without asking anyone for, what do they call that, oh yes, input. Yes, you might say that we at the bottom are inputless, that we are. So polices change and they physically move us around....and hey it all stays the same (except our office might end up where we don't want it). You might wonder if those folks know of The GE Light Bulb experiment.... And, as of this moment, we have a supervisor to worker ratio of five workers per supervisor.
I guess some might quip, But, hey, what would happen if they weren't going to all of those meetings? Hmmmm.....interesting question. Oh, well. Enough for now.....
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