Ponderosa Healing House is Open!

We are excited to announce that the Crestwood Ponderosa Healing House is officially open! The Ponderosa Healing House is funded through a partnership with San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and is part of the redesigned Cordilleras Health and Healing Campus. This campus consists of four independently operated, 16-bed MHRCs, each with a focus on providing specialized services to meet the different needs of individuals from San Mateo County with mental health issues. The Ponderosa Healing House focuses on serving individuals who are medically complex with challenges such as hard to control diabetes, mobility issues and other conditions that require more nursing support than a typical MHRC. The program is located at 280 Edmonds Road, Bldg B in Redwood City.

Go to the link below to view a tour of the campus:
https://crestwoodbehavioralhealth.com/location/san-mateo/

Santa Barbara County Mobile Crisis Team is now open!

As part of our Santa Barbara CSS campus’ expanding services in Santa Barbara County, Crestwood is excited to announce that Crestwood assumed operations of the Santa Barbara County Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) on December 1.

The MCT is a part of our integrated crisis services in Santa Barbara County that includes the Access Line and CSS. The MCT works with the Access Line Specialists who deploy the team when crisis intervention, de-escalation and stabilization services are needed for individuals who are in crisis and are at risk of hurting themselves or someone else or are unable to provide basic care for themselves due to a suspected mental health issue.

Read the full announcement below:
https://cbhiblog.wordpress.com/2024/12/03/santa-barbara-county-mobile-crisis-team-is-now-open/

Santa Barbara County Access Line is Open!

Crestwood is excited to announce that we have expanded our services with the introduction of the Crestwood Santa Barbara County Access Line, a new program that is a part of our Santa Barbara CSS program. We officially assumed operations of the Access Line on November 15th at 8:00 pm.

Read the full announcement below:
https://cbhiblog.wordpress.com/2024/11/20/santa-barbara-county-access-line-is-open/

Crestwood Celebrates Receiving its 8th CARF Accreditation!

When an organization sets its goals to meet higher standards than is required by licensing agencies, payer sources, community stakeholders and industry standards, and then goes on to achieve those goals, it is an extraordinary accomplishment. Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. is proud once again to have achieved just that accomplishment. In August 2024, Crestwood received the highest-level Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities’ (CARF) Three-Year Accreditation of our behavioral health programs and our Shoreline and Sacramento Home Offices. This accreditation shows an organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standard and that it has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an onsite visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

Read the full announcement below:
https://cbhiblog.wordpress.com/2024/11/04/crestwood-celebrates-carf/

Black Men’s Health: A Call to Action for Awareness and Improvement by Dr. George Woods

Black men in the United States face significant health disparities compared to other racial and ethnic groups. These disparities are not only a reflection of individual health behaviors but are deeply rooted in systemic issues such as racial discrimination, socioeconomic challenges, and unequal access to healthcare services. Addressing these disparities requires a multifaceted approach that includes raising awareness, promoting preventive care, and advocating for policy changes.

Read the full article below:
https://www.washingtoninformer.com/aawp-black-men-health-disparities/

Santa Barbara Crisis Stabilization Services is Open!

We are excited to announce that the Santa Barbara Crisis Stabilization Services (CSS) is officially open as of May 30! The Santa Barbara CSS is funded through a partnership with the County of Santa Barbara Department of Behavioral Wellness, and it is our third Crestwood CSS program. The CSS is certified to serve up to 8 adult clients who are experiencing a mental health crisis. This program provides them with a safe and warm place to land, where they receive comprehensive mental health services and support for up to 23 hours during their stay. They will then be referred to mental health services that best meets their needs so they may continue their recovery journey. The program is located at 305 Camino del Remedio in Santa Barbara.

View the campus web page here:
https://crestwoodbehavioralhealth.com/location/santa-barbara-crisis-stabilization-services/

Dr. George Woods on Forensic Psy. & Criminal Justice System

“African Americans have historically been shaped by racism. They’ve been shaped by trauma.” Dr. Woods, who has practiced forensic psychiatry for more than 40 years, stresses that this also translates to the criminal justice system.

Read the full article below.

https://cbhiblog.wordpress.com/2024/02/27/dr-george-woods-on-forensic-psychiatry-and-the-criminal-justice-system/

Zumba! with Greg Parnell

Check out Crestwood's amazing Zumba Instructor, Greg Parnell, on how he #FoundMyselfOnTheDanceFloor. A couple of months ago Zumba Fitness reached out to Greg to do a video segment on him for their “How I Found Myself on the Dance Floor” series. It is a beautiful video showcasing the gifts, inspiration, fun and dedication that Greg brings every day to our staff and persons served through Zumba.

Check out the video link below.

https://fb.watch/qsCeXEggYE/
https://www.facebook.com/reel/856765593129518

Welcome Crestwood Napa County MRT!

We are excited to announce that as of December 31, 2023 we are now providing mobile crisis services through our Crestwood Napa County Mobile Response Team (MRT), located at our Crestwood Napa County CSS. This is Crestwood’s first MRT program and it is in partnership with Napa County Health and Human Services. The MRT program provides crisis services during identified hours as part of a 24-hour crisis response continuum of care. The MRT’s goal is to de-escalate the crisis and safely connect individuals with mental health care and resources.

Learn more: https://live-crestwood.pantheonsite.io/location/napa-css/

Welcome San Luis Obispo CO PHF to Crestwood!

We are excited to announce that Crestwood assumed operations of the San Luis Obispo County Psychiatric Health Facility (PHF), located at 2178 Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo, on July 1 at 12:01am! The San Luis Obispo County PHF is funded through a partnership with the County of San Luis Obispo Behavioral Health and is our seventh PHF program. The PHF has 16 beds dedicated to San Luis Obispo County persons served and provides much-needed mental-health services for those who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

We are also pleased to introduce our new Administrator for the San Luis Obispo County PHF, Lauren Biles, MSW, ACSW, who comes to us with 16 years of behavioral health experience in a variety of settings.

After we assume operations of the PHF on July 1, the next step is to start the renovations and transformation of the campus into our Crestwood homelike and trauma-informed environment.

A huge Thank You to our amazing, dedicated and talented start-up team who have worked so hard and spent the past month in San Luis Obispo to conduct the New Employee Orientation (NEO) for the campus staff. It truly takes a village to bring a new campus into our Crestwood family and we want to express our deepest gratitude and thanks to everyone involved!

Please join us in welcoming the San Luis Obispo County PHF staff and campus to our Crestwood family!

Learn more here: https://live-crestwood.pantheonsite.io/location/san-luis-obispo-county-phf/

LA Times Article- Breaking the Silence with Dr. George Woods

An important and heartbreaking article that Crestwood’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. George Woods, was able to lend his insight and support to increase the awareness on this significant trend of increased suicide in black men.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-06-17/behold-juneteenth-deneen-vaughn-black-mother-suicide-black-la

Crestwood Celebrates Mental Health Matters Day at the Capitol!

On May 24, members of the community gathered near the steps of the State Capitol in recognition of Mental Health Matters Day! Crestwood was proud to once again be a sponsor for this annual event presented by Mental Health America of California.

READ MORE

Crestwood Presents at Peerpocalypse!

Peerpocalypse is a conference of leaders, emerging leaders, innovators, and peers who want to become more involved in the peer community. Adopting the philosophy that peers bring with them a great deal of knowledge and expertise, the event is about bringing the community together to share information, skills, and experience.

READ MORE

Crestwood Sponsors and Participates in Northern CA NAMIWalks!

On Saturday, May 6, the community gathered to support “Mental Health for All” at the Northern California NAMIWalks. Despite a little rain, there was a great turnout!

READ MORE

Crestwood, CRRS and Dreamcatchers at NatCon23!

May 1-3, Crestwood, Crestwood Recovery Resilience Solutions (CRRS), and Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network were represented at NatCon23, one of the largest mental health and substance use treatment conferences! The annual conference is held by National Council for Mental Wellbeing and took place in Los Angeles this year!

Peer Employment Learning Center Open House!

Crestwood is known for our extraordinary level of commitment to our implementation of Evidence-Based Practices, from WRAP to DBT to Supported Employment. We are now being recognized as leaders in organizational education and learning. On November 9th, we were pleased to celebrate the Open House for Crestwood’s Peer Employment Learning Center (PELC) located on our Crestwood San Diego campus! The inspiration for creating the PELC began more than 10 years ago and stemmed from the vision of Patty Blum, Crestwood Executive Vice President and Supervisor for the Recovery Resilience Solutions (RRS) team, and George C. Lytal, Crestwood Chief Executive Officer, who both wanted to bring a state-of-the-art learning center that is dedicated to providing training and preparation for Peer Support Specialists in the workplace, training for the supervision of peers, and organizational recovery training for Crestwood.

Click on PDF below to learn more.

Crestwood Sponsors and Presents at NYAPRS Annual Conference!

Crestwood is proud to have once again sponsored and had staff presenting at the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) annual conference. NYAPRS has been leading in peer employment, growth of psychosocial/psychiatric rehabilitation services and collaborating with the leading universities across the nation. Crestwood has been presenting at the conference since 2012. This September, some members of Crestwood’s Recovery Education and Leadership (REaL) Team attended the conference, where they presented a variety of workshops including:
Supported Employment and Dreamcatchers at Crestwood
Crestwood’s Peer Employment Learning Center
Zumba – A Crestwood Foundational Wellness Tool

In addition to presenting the workshops, Crestwood was invited to provide a daily wellness support (Zumba!), and our own Greg Parnell was a lead in the annual comedy show! During the “Stand Up For Mental Health” comedy show, Greg and six other individuals from across the nation and Canada came together with one common goal….to stop taking themselves so seriously! Peers got up on stage after months of creating jokes based on their own lived experience and the outcome was truly freeing. Laughter filled the theater, and the audience could be heard connecting and relating to the stories and jokes being shared.

Overall, the NYAPRS conference was a wonderful experience and the REaL Team members are grateful to have attended!

Crestwood Bakersfield PELC Graduation!

Bakersfield MHRC Leaders Prepare to Put the "Treat" Back into Treatment

Americans talk a lot about treatment of mental health issues in behavioral health services. In fact, it’s an ongoing discussion still taking place all over the world. It used to be that treatment was something you did to people instead of with them. Crestwood has long been an innovator in transforming treatment into a collaborative process that is both person-centered and person-driven. And that innovation has not stopped. In fact, a team of leaders at Crestwood Bakersfield's MHRC is now preparing to put the “treat” back into treatment.

On August 15th through the 26th, 13 leaders at the Bakersfield campus from the MHRC, Bridge and PHF participated in Crestwood’s two-week peer support training course called Peer Support Learning (PSL) for the 21st Century. These talented trailblazers took the first step to launch a Peer Employment Learning Center (PELC) at their campus. They experienced a deeper connection to themselves and to each other as a faculty of leaders. They will next participate in Crestwood’s “Recovery Practices for Leaders” and the “Resilient Culture Playbook” workshop to prepare themselves to lead and sustain a recovery culture and workforce.

Establishing a PELC is transformative on several levels. First, the PELC provides a comprehensive training opportunity to train the people we serve, who have a lived recovery experience, as peer support specialists in the workforce. Secondly, the training process includes a paid internship to fully prepare the newly trained peer support specialists for jobs. In short, the “recovery service receivers” now become recovery service providers. And lastly, all the campus staff receive recovery skills training to support the interns who will also become future colleagues. This campus preparation and training process creates a holistic recovery shift within the campus culture whereby recovery outcomes will be optimized for the people served and staff alike.

As another recovery trailblazer, Dr. Mark Ragins of the Mental Health America Village, once said, “The goal of [mental health] services is not to treat illnesses, but to help people… have better lives.” At the new Bakersfield MHRC PELC, what’s already good in our treatment is becoming even better!

Crestwood presents at the IALMH Conference!

In July, several Crestwood staff were invited to present at the International Congress on Law and Mental Health in Lyon, France. The conference is held every two years by the International Academy of Law and Mental Health (IALMH), bringing together the international community of researchers, academics, practitioners and professionals in the field, whose wide-ranging perspective provide for a comprehensive look at important law and mental health issues.

The conference sessions were held from Monday, July 4 – Friday, July 8. There were 3 sessions each day which included many different topics related to law and mental health including the four sessions Crestwood staff were invited to present:
1. How a State-wide Behavioral Health Provider Prepared for a Pandemic (Terry Paterson, Alec Atkin, Raul Almazar)
2. The French Connection: How One California Based Organization is Transforming its Locked Mental Health Treatment Facilities to Optimize Recovery Outcome (Chris Martin, Scott Palluck)
3. Trauma Informed Care (Laura Valdivia, Raul Almazar, Cindy Mataraso, Regina Kaiser)
4. Crestwood Treatment Interventions (Regina Kaiser, Cindy Mataraso)

Many other sessions included presentation topics such as therapeutic approaches to criminal defense, digital technologies, public policy, Indigenous law, forensic psychiatry, artificial intelligence and more.

Presenting at this international conference was an honor in representing Crestwood values and our recovery services and outcomes. It was also a privilege to attend different sessions and meet with other behavioral health providers throughout the world.

Reflections on the conference from one of Crestwood’s presenters, Cindy Mataraso:

“Presenting the successes of our Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program to an international audience confirmed how innovative Crestwood is. People from the Australia judicial system asked for details of how we on-board new counselors so they can train their unlicensed staff. People from Turkey were interested in how we include both judicially involved and non-judicially involved people in the same cohort, and people from Canada were interested in how we integrate DBT with other treatments.”

Crestwood Celebrates Receiving our 7th CARF Accreditation!!

When an organization sets its goals to meet higher standards than is required by licensing agencies, payer sources, community stakeholders and industry standards, and then goes on to achieve those goals, it is an extraordinary accomplishment. Crestwood Behavioral Health Inc. (CBHI) is proud once again to have achieved just that accomplishment. In June 2022, Crestwood received the highest-level of Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities’ (CARF) Three-Year Accreditation of our 27 community programs, accounting office and home office. This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

READ MORE

Welcome Crestwood Sonoma County Healing Center!

Crestwood is proud to announce that our newest Psychiatric Health Facility, Crestwood Sonoma County Healing Center (SCHC) in Santa Rose, is scheduled to open early February! This 16-bed PHF will provide much-needed, mental health services with 14 beds dedicated to Sonoma County residents and 2 beds dedicated to Marin County residents.

READ MORE

Dr. George Woods, Crestwood’s CSO, KTVU interview

Black youth suicide rate doubles since 2014, California health department says

OAKLAND, Calif. - The pandemic is taking a toll on children's mental health and experts are sounding an alarm about a disturbing increase in depression and suicide among Black youth.

Data from the state Department of Public Health shows the suicide rate of young Black Californians has doubled since 2014.

"It has doubled since 2014. It's gone up 80% since 2010," said Dr. George Woods, a neuropsychiatrist, and Chief Science Officer at Crestwood Behavioral Health, "It really is an unusual phenomenon. We typically have not seen that rate of suicide among within the African American child and adolescent community."

READ MORE

Sonoma County Healing Center Virtual Open House Tour!

Take a virtual tour of our newest campus- Crestwood Sonoma County Healing Center!

ABOUT SONOMA

Congratulations Matt Yarwood- New CAHF Chairman of the Board!

We are delighted to announce that Matt Yarwood, Crestwood Director of Operations, is also now serving as the newly elected Chairman of the Board for the California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF). Matt will continue to bring his expertise and advocacy in support of the people we serve to CAHF. Please join us in congratulating Matt on this new position!

READ MORE

Crestwood’s Therapeutic Environments Recognized in Study!

Crestwood is once again being recognized for one of our innovative recovery initiatives in the latest edition of the Journal of Human Services-Training, Research and Practice in an article Staffs’ Perceptions of Sensory-based Interventions at an Inpatient Hospital: A Case Study. In 2019, Crestwood partnered with Rutgers University to study our initiative of using therapeutic environments as a recovery treatment tool at our Crestwood San Diego campus. The use of sensory-based interventions in our programs, an initiative led by Janet Vlavianos, Crestwood’s Director of Accreditation and Corporate Initiatives, was reviewed by the Rutgers University research team led by Nora Barrett and Aaron Levitt. They determined there was great merit in sharing and publishing our Crestwood therapeutic design effort. The Rutgers team returned to Crestwood San Diego and partnered with Janet to conduct the research for this study.

A huge Thank You to our amazing Crestwood San Diego staff for supporting this research and demonstrating their collaborative team spirit by participating in a multitude of interviews. Thank you to our Rutgers University partners for supporting the research and publication, especially Aaron Levitt. Thank you to Janet Vlavianos for the brilliant foresight and understanding that our campus environments truly make a difference in the lives of the people we serve and our staff. This study not only provides a meaningful contribution to the body of mental health recovery knowledge, but it will hopefully lead to more evaluation and publication on our therapeutic environments, as well as other Crestwood Foundational Tools and initiatives.

Click on PDF below to read the entire study Staffs’ Perceptions of Sensory-based Interventions at an Inpatient Hospital: A Case Study

Dr. George Woods joins panel-Psychological Issues in the Workplace 2021!

On October 26, Crestwood’s very own Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. George Woods, will be participating in a panel of experts for the Practising Law Institute’s live webcast presentation and discussion on Psychological Issues in the Workplace 2021!

This program will address in a clear and pragmatic way key legal issues at the intersection of employment law and psychology, A wide array of claims, from discrimination and retaliation to workplace safety and disability accommodation, are profoundly impacted by the range of emotions that motivate employees
and employers alike. These emotions have only been heightened during this unprecedented time. This program brings together in-house counsel, outside counsel, and mental health professionals to address the creation, litigation and resolution of employment law claims unique to the pandemic and its aftermath, and the manner in which psychological issues influence the employees, managers and employers involved
in such conflicts.

Date: Tuesday, October 26
Time: 1:00 to 5:15 Eastern Time

Please see attached PDF flyer for more information and how to register

Congratulations Dr. George Woods-appointed Pres. of the IALMH!

Our very own Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. George Woods, has been appointed as the President of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health for the second time in the last six years, following a successful completion of the amalgamation of the International Academy and the Institute of Ethics, Medicine, and Public Health at the Sorbonne, Paris, France! The International Academy of Law and Mental Health finds itself in its most influential position in the 44-year history of the organization going into the next Congress in Lyon, France, July 2022. https://ialmh.org/

Congratulations Dr. Woods!!

Welcome Napa County CSS to Crestwood!

We are excited to announce that we have assumed operations of the Napa County Crisis Stabilization Services (CSS) as of 12:01am on June 1! The Napa County CSS is funded through a partnership with Napa County Health and Human Services and is the second CSS program for Crestwood. The CSS is certified to serve up to 8 clients of all ages who are experiencing a mental health crisis. This program provides them a safe and warm place to land, where they receive comprehensive mental health services and support for up to 23 hours during their stay. After which, they will be referred to the mental health services that best meets their needs so that they may continue their recovery journey. The program is located at 2751 Napa Valley Corporate Drive in Napa, in the existing Crisis Stabilization Unit on county grounds.

Shalon Dean, who in addition to being our Fairfield CSS Administrator, will also assume the Administrator position at the Napa County CSS. Shalon brings her wonderful experience with managing a CSS, along with her steady and compassionate leadership skills that will support the campus and their staff as they join our Crestwood family. Rhonda VanCleve will also support the CSS’ program and staff as the campus’ Director of Operations.

Crestwood awarded Peer Personnel Training and Placement Grant!

Yes – it’s happened again!! Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. has been awarded another Peer Personnel Training and Placement Program Grant through OSHPD (California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development). We submitted our proposal in March 2021 and were recently informed of the grant award. Crestwood is honored to be one of 14 awardees of this grant.

As you may know, the Peer Personnel Training and Placement Program Grant allows us to support the continued growth and development of the peer workforce throughout California with our collaborative partners.

This new grant will be effective starting July 1, 2021 and will continue through June 30, 2023.

With the Peer Employment Learning Center Pilot Project underway at our San Diego Campus and the continued opportunity to support peers through OSHPD, Crestwood is shining bright as a leader in peer workforce development.

Dr. George Woods Joins Crestwood as Chief Scientific Officer!

Crestwood is delighted to announce that after years of being an invaluable consulting source for Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc., George Woods, MD, LFAPA, has accepted the Chief Scientific Officer position and is now an official member of our Crestwood family as of April 1st! Dr. Woods has been our Senior Clinical Consultant for Crestwood for the past few years and served as a key member of Crestwood’s Pandemic Response Committee, helping to lead Crestwood’s strong response through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Woods brings an incredible wealth of knowledge, education and experience to Crestwood that spans many years of working in the mental health field, consulting, teaching and serving as a board member for companies and institutes. Here are just a few of his impressive career highlights:

•Dr. Woods completed a fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Psychiatric Association in Geriatric Psychopharmacology.
•In 1982 he started his medical career with Crestwood.
•Dr. Woods was a Lecturer at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law and was Adjunct Professor at the University of California-Davis from 1994 through 2000 and Morehouse School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry from 2002-2018.
•In 2018 he was the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Utah Medical Center and was the first psychiatrist to be so honored by the University of Utah.
•He received the Historical Prixe from the University of Milan in July 2019.
•He is currently President-Elect of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health and is being asked to return to this position for the second time in 6 years.
•From 2017 through 2019, he served as Secretary General to the International Academy of Law and Mental Health during its amalgamation with the Institute of Ethics, Medicine, and Public Health at the Sorbonne, Paris, France.
•Dr. Woods has worked with legal teams internationally dealing with complex criminal and civil litigation, as well as the philosophy of AI and its cultural implications.
•He has worked with Vulcan Industries, Microsoft, and Walmart, among others, on psychometrically and culturally competent employment testing procedures.

Dr. Woods serves on:
•The Board of Directors of QB Technology Partners, a 22nd Century Satellite and Telecom provider.
•The Board of the Stanford University Health Alliance (UHA) Accountable Care Organization and Stanford’s UHA Medical Disparities Committee.
•The Board of Directors of Global Press Institute. Global Press Institute exists to create a more just and informed world by employing local women journalists to produce ethical, accurate news coverage from the world’s least-covered places.
•He is an Advisory Board member of Roots Medical Clinic in Oakland, California. The mission of Roots is to uplift those impacted by systematic inequities and poverty by providing culturally responsive, comprehensive healthcare, behavioral health, and wraparound services; identifying and addressing root causes of illness and suffering; and emphasizing self-sufficiency and community empowerment

We are very honored and excited to have Dr. George Woods officially a part of our Crestwood family, so please join me in welcoming him to his new role!

Crestwood’s April 2021 Kindness Calendar

Check out Crestwood's Kindness Calendar for April below.

Peer support specialists aid emotional scars

Peer support specialists aid emotional scars of those treating COVID-19
Check out this touching CBS News clip where Peer Support Specialists are supporting their team at a Medical Center in Moreno Valley.
This is an inspiring story highlighting the significant contribution of peer support.

View the clip here

Santa Barbara press coverage of the Lompoc Healing Center

Crestwood Champion Healing Center opened in Lompoc opened on November 30, 2020. Here is what the press in Santa Barbara County had to say:

From the Santa Barbara Independant
"Finally. After many rumors, much back-room whispering by elected officials, and even more anticipation — Lompoc’s Champion Center opened its doors for a new mental health treatment center offering 80 new beds for those suffering serious mental health issues."
Read the article here

From KCLU
"Long Sought New Inpatient Mental Health Rehabilitation Facility Opens In Santa Barbara County"
Read the article here

From the Santa Barbara Independant
"34 Bed Mental Health Rehabilitation Center Opens in Lompoc...With the support of this program, many individuals will be able to return from out of county care, to live within their community. After further renovations occur, additional beds will be added."
Read the article here

Crestwood Champion Healing Center is Open!

Crestwood is proud to announce that our newest MHRC, Crestwood Champion Healing Center in Lompoc opened on November 30, 2020! This is the first MHRC in Santa Barbara County and they are happy to have these much-needed, mental health services for individuals in their county. The Champion Healing Center will also make it now possible for many clients to be able to return from out of county care, to live within their community and be closer to family and friends.

This beautiful campus with a warm and welcoming homelike environment, will provide services with three distinct levels that focus on different needs, structures and supports. The first level is a program that focuses on stabilization and behavior management with trauma-informed approaches for those clients needing the most acute care. The second level offers a standard MHRC program, with a focus on recovery-based services, behavior self-management, supportive independent living skills, and self-advocacy. The third level is an intensive adult residential program that teaches clients independent living skills and gets them ready for return to their communities.

This first opening phase of Champion Healing Center is for the 34-bed, standard-level MHRC program. Plans are later to expand to 80 beds that will feature all three levels of care.

Thank you to the entire Crestwood team that worked so hard to make this happen! Welcome Champion Healing Center staff and clients to our Crestwood Family!

Crestwood Recovery and Resilience Solutions Singapore Announcement

We are thrilled to announce that as a result of the acquisition of Resilience, Inc. last year and Crestwood creating Crestwood Recovery and Resilience Solutions (CRRS), Crestwood has been awarded the contract with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) to be the national Peer Support Specialist training and consultation provider in Singapore!

Crestwood became aware of this RFP opportunity in late summer and engaged in a rigorous proposal process, with the hope of our organization being selected to enter into an international contract for Peer Support training. It was a very competitive bidding process and, as usual, Crestwood’s Scott Palluck, Director of Operations Process Analysis and Chris Martin, Director of Learning and Performance, achieved excellent scores. This is Crestwood’s first international contract and it is for 3 years and allows for both onsite and virtual training and support.

Currently, CRRS serves 9 counties and 5 community-based organizations across the state through four existing OSHPD grants.

Congratulations to CRRS and Scott and Chris!

Sonoma County Healing Center PHF to open Spring 2021!

Sonoma County Department of Health Services announcement on the partnership with Crestwood to open the Sonoma County Healing Center PHF in the Spring of 2021!

Dear Partners and Stakeholders,

The Sonoma County Department of Health Services is pleased to provide an update on our efforts to develop the critically needed 16-bed psychiatric health facility (PHF). We anticipate opening the Sonoma County Healing Center in the Spring of 2021. The County-owned facility will be located at 7440 Los Guilicos Road, Santa Rosa, the former Valley of the Moon Children’s Center at Los Guilicos.

Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. will operate the PHF. Crestwood is an independent, locally-owned business with significant experience operating behavioral health facilities throughout California. The fully-accredited, Sacramento-based healthcare provider, provides recovery-oriented mental health services designed to meet the needs of adults, older adults and transition-age youth with mental health issues, with more than 1,800 licensed beds, in more than 24 California campuses-ranging in size from 12 to 194 beds.

As you know, Sonoma County has long been in need of inpatient psychiatric beds. The absence of these beds has been a significant gap in the County’s mental health system of care. The absence of the facility has meant that many in our community have lacked access to quality mental health services and the absence of these inpatient beds has negatively impacted other systems within our community - hospital emergency departments and our jails. Opening this PHF will close the gap in psychiatric crisis care continuum, improve client care, and address negative impacts experienced by other local services.

The establishment of the PHF could not have occurred without the investments of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors as well as the collective contributions of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, and St. Joseph Health/Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. We extend a huge thanks of gratitude for their financial investments and partnership. Your support has made the PHF a reality in Sonoma County and we look forward to inviting you to the ribbon cutting and open house in the Spring of 2021. We will continue to provide updates as we move forward.

Crestwood committed to justice, compassion, love and equality

-A Message from Derek Dobbins, Patty Blum and Pam Norris

This week has been a week to pause and search our hearts. We have had moments of elation with space travel. We have had reminders that although some businesses are now open, we are still in the early stages of a global pandemic, with increased numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths. We have also had one of the most tragic and painful moments of our lifetime, witnessing police brutality that resulted in the death of George Floyd. As a result, we have seen our communities around the country rise up and march side-by-side seeking justice. We have seen community after community stand up for equality, integrity, commitment and compassion. There is nothing more aligned with our Crestwood values than the dignity of human life and the ability to treat people with respect and kindness. We condemn racism and bigotry as we battle stigma for people. We have the profound duty and opportunity as a community of diverse Crestwood family members to dismantle generations of inequity and racism. We are committed to supporting justice, as we look for a way forward to create a better world that will be based on compassion, love and equality and it will take the commitment and effort of every one of us to make it happen.

Sonoma County Healing Center PHF Approved!

On May, 19, 2020, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved the establishment of the Sonoma County Healing Center!

The PHF will be located at the former Valley of the Moon Children's Center (VOMCC) located at 7440 Los Guilicos Road in Santa Rosa and DHS has contracted with Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc., to operate the PHF that will provide much needed acute care psychiatric beds to County DHS. The County anticipates the PHF will open as soon as the end of 2020 or early 2021.

COVID-19 and Crestwood – Important Info

April 7, 2020

To: Our Residents, Guests, Persons-Served and Family Members

We know many of you may be concerned about the spread of COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) being reported in the media and how it may impact us here at our campuses. Ensuring our persons served are cared for in a safe and healthy environment is our greatest concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended a variety of steps that we are implementing to help reduce the potential for the virus to enter our building. However, we need your help in battling COVID-19. Below are some examples of how you can help protect the residents, as well as prevent the spread throughout the community.

Family is one of our Crestwood values, but for the safety of our persons served and staff, we are restricting visitors at this time.

We understand that connecting with family members is incredibly important, and there are a variety of other ways you might consider connecting with them. These may include telephone, email, text, or through Skype or Facebook. We will do what we can to support these alternative ways to communicate for now.

Our campuses are following the recommendations of the CDC on prevention steps, including following strict handwashing procedures, and in some circumstances, wearing gowns and gloves when interacting with residents who are sick. We also are staying up to date with the CDC recommendations as they are updated. In addition, our Home Office and campuses are in close contact with the local and state health departments and are following their guidance.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Campus Administrators or Anthony Garcia at our Home Office (916) 201-7332.

For additional information, please visit the CDC COVID-19 information page @ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Thank you for your understanding and help during this time.

The CDC is recommending these habits to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Stay home if you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue. Throw used tissues in the trash immediately.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Zumba at Crestwood- Greg Parnell’s Interview with CASRA!

Greg Parnell Interview CASRA Newsletter February 14, 2020

Can you tell us a bit about your background – and how you got involved in the world of Zumba? Why Zumba instead of yoga or Jazzercise or other possible fitness programs?

It was my 15-year sobriety birthday, so you know what happened in the past. And, I joined a gym. I spent so much of my time destroying my body that I said, yah, after fifteen years of sobriety, why not start taking care of it! I tried all the fitness classes, including yoga. Zumba was probably the worst one. The other things were basic exercise, cross-fit, boot camp, all that stuff I could do, but Zumba I couldn’t. It’s a long story but something happened in that class, besides the shame of being the only male and that I couldn’t do it, something happened. I felt joy, like I felt when I was high. So, I thought I have to go back, it’s got to get easier, now that I did it once, I know what to expect. But it was actually worse. And, my whole life was all about if I couldn’t do something the first time, I didn’t do it. I majored in truancy and all these crazy things. But something drove me to keep trying. I you-tubed some Salsa videos. There was a certain move called the Beto Shuffle (single, single, double), and I just couldn’t do it, drove me crazy. I have no idea why. What I used to tell people is that what I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm. It felt like a party. The other classes just faded away, Zumba stayed. Zumba is sort of an evolution of Jazzercise. But there’s something about Zumba that even to this day, I notice that is so different from other fitness programs. Besides that element of joy, it’s that everyone is an expert on themselves and there is no limit on what you can do. What Zumba does as a whole, globally, is a thing called Zumba Love, literally trying to change the world and make the world a better place. One “single-single double” at a time. There are some “negative” side-effects of Zumba, like chronic happiness, weight loss, increased community, increased energy – so if you want any of those things, do it! If you don’t, stay away. And, again, it’s really changed a lot, it’s changed me completely. It’s kind of doing the same thing for other people.

You’re currently providing this opportunity to staff at Crestwood – how did the agency come to create this innovative program for staff health and wellness?

That’s actually backwards. We started doing classes for clients in the facility I was working in up north in Eureka. And then when I started doing classes around the area, I would do Zumba for staff and residents of Crestwood when I would be in the neighborhood. The turn out at these classes was better than what I was getting in Eureka. There was a time when I was at the Bakersfield Campus – I noticed this lady right in front of me. I was doing the class high energy, lots of facial expressions. And she was doing all the moves, but with a totally straight face. A flat affect. Even kind of scared me. And so I moved to the other side of the room, and she moved with me, and every time I moved, she moved to stay with me. The class was incredible – 60 people with staff and residents in the dining room. And when it was done, one of the directors came up to me and put her hand on my shoulders – she was bawling – and I’m thinking, crap, I wasn’t paying attention – someone must’ve gotten hurt. Normally I look for shoelaces and everything. She said, “That lady who was following you, she has been here for nine months and only comes out of her room for meals and meds. And you had her in this huge social place, and you had moving for the whole 45 minutes. That was amazing.” After the Vice President of Crestwood, Patti Blum, Ph.D., heard about this event, she wanted Zumba at all the facilities. This is a way to get people up and moving, bring people joy, get people to crack that shell of whatever it is. So, I made a PowerPoint and did a roll-out to all the campuses to try to get people interested. It was incredible. I expected maybe one or two staff who’d want to get licensed. But in Bakersfield there were 13, in San Jose there were eight. Almost double digits for every campus. Then it was like, oh crap, they’re not going to be able to pay for that many people! So, soon after I went to the Zumba Instructor Convention in Orlando. I was walking around and ran into Alberto Perlman, the CEO of Zumba. I told him what I was doing, working in mental health hospitals – that I was recruiting and that it was overwhelming, like too many. I had a letter that went out to all the administrators, that described the vision: At least two staff get licensed at every facility, or licensed people from the community, or use DVDs – whatever it took, Zumba was going to happen. I handed him the letter.

So, do you know who Ashley Judd is? She was our keynote speaker that year. She was amazing. She was talking about trauma and body image…she told a story about one of her friends in Georgia who had been physically and sexually abused all her life, who only felt in her body when she was in Zumba. So at that point, I said – oh I think I’m in love. She did Zumba instructions for 8000 instructors. That night was the fitness concert – live music with Zumba. Alberto Perlman talked with Ashley and showed her the letter. “We want to be involved with the project you’re doing.” In 2015, Zumba paid for half of the staff that got licensed (10) and Crestwood paid for the other ten.

In 2016, Patty said let’s get this into our skilled nursing facilities and neurobehavioral units. The next year I rolled out the program for 20 more staff. Currently we have 52-53 employees that are licensed to teach Zumba. So you see it’s kind of the other way around. It started for clients.

One of the things I noticed when I visited facilities, the more staff would participate, the more clients would participate. It started to be one of our wellness initiatives, getting everybody up, anyway we could. It varies, some campuses are doing really well, fired up and inspired with instructors that have that passion. They have amazing classes - 30 clients and a whole bunch of staff come in. They even bring the music up to the nurses’ station, since they can’t leave, so they can dance too. Some people do classes specifically for staff, some for clients and it does vary from campus to campus. So it started as kind of a happy accident.

What’s been the response? What benefits have you seen? Are there any outcome measures being tracked?
The response has been incredible and the benefits are amazing. I think back to Eureka, there was a gal, and I’m not going to say this was all Zumba – I mean it was everything we were doing around her. But, she was 18 and had a really awful trauma history, just horrific, including scars over most of her body. She got involved with Zumba. When she was asked why she liked Zumba, she said “I feel like I’ve got these bubbles in my body, and I’ve got to get them out.” So Zumba was a great way to do this. I actually just got an email from her, and she has gone three years without a self-harm incident.

There’s other people that I’ve heard from. This is their favorite group. People that are working with Dreamcatchers for employment, several want to be Zumba Assistants. We know all the general benefits from exercise, diabetes levels, need for insulin goes down. The “negative” benefits are weight loss, increased happiness. It is a gateway drug for other fitness programs.

We are currently doing the best we can for outcomes – it’s hard, because of turnover, to actually track people. But I do know the people who stay with it, who are consistent, there is definitely a breakthrough. Some of our facilities have very difficult clients. I was at a facility for a Halloween event, doing a lot of “Zombie” moves, with Thriller and a nice mix. One of the guys was an African-American gentleman there, a big dude, and we were both really doing the zombie moves hard. After class, he said to me “Hey thanks, I really needed that.” I said, “My pleasure! Your energy was contagious and made me want to do more!” Later staff came up to me and said that guy was almost in restraints five seconds before you came in. Now he was sitting there calm as a feather. These are the things I’ve seen. The staff in facilities think, oh no, the acuity is too high here. But I say that’s when you NEED Zumba. You need to get it out.

So the question is, what do you have in people’s treatment plan that’s about getting them moving, getting out? This is one of those things, with encouragement, could be part of everybody’s plan. How do we do it? Staff models it. Staff models having fun – that’s what gets people to try it, having fun. I have so many stories, things I’ve seen - so many good things, every time I go out, I see change. I tell people, your energy is amazing! When you get out of here - get that meaningful role, man!

What can people expect in going to your workshop? How will your workshop help people get Zumba going in their agency?
People can expect fun. There’s going to be a PowerPoint and how this happened. Then, I’ll talk about ways you can get Zumba going in your agency. I can be a resource, a support. This is Zumba Fitness’ first experience of having a hand in mental health. They are now doing things with Suicide Prevention and with working with people who have schizophrenia. They are starting to do their own research in this area. Crestwood was their first partnership.
Last year at the convention, they had a person who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia talk to the group about the positive impact of Zumba. She told a story about how after the first class her voices told her to stop going, so she did. She happened to run into the instructor, who told her they missed her at the class and asked where she had been and was there anything she could do to help. She told the instructor that she has schizophrenia and hears voices and that they told her not to come. The instructor just said “Well, invite your voices along. You can all come”. And – she did it! She went back to class. The instructor had no experience in mental health. She just invited her into this space of wellness.
What’s not to say that Zumba won’t partner with other non-profits? They give us discounts for training, and discounts on Zumba-wear, which we give out to people as incentives (ten classes). Everyone gets a Zumba bracelet. The workshop will include info about Zumba mentoring (I do that as well). I really want to see this nationwide.
There will be Chair Class – to show that anybody can do Zumba. There will be a lot of education and information - a lot of laughter. And Fun!

Fallbrook Healing Center’s Article in SD Woman Magazine!

Check out the article on our Fallbrook Healing Center in San Diego Woman Magazine!
https://tinyurl.com/tk5rt8w

Dreamcatchers Celebrates its 6th Annual Client Success Recognition Event!

On October 10th, the importance of empowerment was honored at Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network’s 6th Annual Client Success Recognition Event at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. This event celebrates the success of their clients who have been hired during the past year. This year’s theme was “Building for the Future” and it was another huge success with more than 80 clients, their family members, employers and Crestwood staff, along with state and county officials, attending. The day was filled with wonderful stories of perseverance and inspiration from their clients, as they shared how Dreamcatchers and finding employment has changed their lives. This year’s event also featured a panel of three Dreamcatchers' staff, who shared their own moving personal stories on how employment through Dreamcatchers empowered them in their lives and how happy they are to be able to pay it forward by assisting Dreamcatchers’ clients to accomplish their own personal employment goals.

This celebration event honors and shines the spotlight on Dreamcatchers’ clients who have worked so hard for all their accomplishments and shows how empowerment is changing lives. Congratulations to all the Dreamcatchers and their continued success!

Check out Dreamcatchers' Video on a few of their clients' inspiring successes. https://youtu.be/MWqberVrF90

Here are a few examples of what their clients shared about Dreamcatchers:

“I want to thank you Dyane and Dreamcatchers for your time and effort you have given me. My family and I appreciate you so much! My new job is the best I've ever had. I won't use the word "love" yet, but I like my job a lot! You are the best, thank you!
- Arnie A

“I appreciate the services and support working with Dreamcatchers. I felt more motivated and engaged in searching and applying for jobs. In addition, I even found jobs that I never thought about applying for, I'm always keeping my options open. Now that I'm back to work, I feel more responsible for myself and I learned how to manage my time more efficiently. Also, I gained more customer service skills by interacting and listening to customer's needs and wants. In conclusion, I feel more comfortable working on the job and paying attention to detail.”
- Joseph

Crestwood Fallbrook Healing Center’s Open House!

On August 21st, Crestwood’s newest 132-bed MHRC, Crestwood Fallbrook Healing Center, held its Open House and it was a huge success! The event kicked-off with a ribbon cutting by George Lytal and Derek Dobbins, followed by a few words from George, Derek, Patty Blum, Pam Norris, and Maria Stefanou. As Pam says, “It takes a village,” to construct, create and open a new campus and she wanted to recognize and thank all of those who worked so hard to make this new campus a reality, including George Lytal, Derek Dobbins, Patty Blum, Maria Stefanou, Lori Blackburn, Matt Dobbins, Anthony Nguyen, Laura Valdivia, John Carswell, Jo Basco, Mario Heredia, John Allen and all the amazing campus staff. The event was attended by more than 175 people and included representatives from San Diego County Behavioral Health, the Fallbrook Regional Health District, county agencies, local agencies, local businesses, local community members and Crestwood staff. Campus staff provided tours of the campus so attendees could experience Crestwood’s beautiful homelike, healing environment first-hand.

Welcome Crestwood Fallbrook Healing Center to our Crestwood family!

Crestwood and Resilience, Inc. Partnership!

CRESTWOOD BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TO PARTNER WITH RESILIENCE, INC.
PROVIDING MAJOR ADVANCES IN PEER TRAINING AND COUNSELING

We are thrilled to announce Crestwood’s new partnership with Resilience, Inc.
Resilience, Inc. is an international leader in recovery and resilience training; consultation and implementation; Peer Support Specialist training and certification; and providing inspiration to so many. This partnership will enable Crestwood to access the consultation and support from the Resilience team that includes: Lori Ashcraft, Gene Johnson, Chris Martin, Scott Palluck.

With this partnership, Crestwood will be launching a new department, Crestwood Recovery and Resilience Solutions, for internal and external support. This new department will continue to provide the very successful Peer Support Training through OSHPD grants with many counites, as well as consultation with other states and internationally.

Also, with the formation of the Crestwood Recovery and Resilience Solutions department, Crestwood will launch a pilot project, the Peer Support Learning Center, that is an outgrowth of the Activate Resilience Teams (ARTs). This pilot will be an opportunity for transitional residential programs to provide Peer Certification curriculum as a core curriculum, followed by a six-month internship, which may lead to certification once the statewide certification is in place. The pilot project will include Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network and will allow Crestwood to continue to be an organizational leader in peer-provided services.

We are delighted to bring the Resilience team into our organizational structure with our Recovery, Learning and Performance team supports centralized at our Sacramento Home Office.

Welcome Santa Barbara Crisis Residential to Crestwood!

On June 1, Crestwood was excited and proud to assume the operations of the Santa Barbara Crisis Residential. The Santa Barbara Crisis Residential campus is located in the beautiful seaside city of Santa Barbara and provides a voluntary, short-term safe place to land for guests experiencing a psychiatric crisis. Their guests are greeted into a warm, homelike environment and we provide them with a variety of recovery-based tools such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) and Trauma-Informed Approaches to help them to manage their symptoms and develop skills to live effectively in the community. The clinical treatment team is comprised of people with lived experience, who are trained and certified peer providers, with a wide-array of clinical expertise. Our guests are also encouraged to utilize our Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network program that provides pre-vocational job skills training.

Welcome Santa Barbara Crisis Residential staff and guests to our Crestwood family!
To learn more about Santa Barbara Crisis Residential, please visit our Locations Page, under Santa Barbara.

Mental Health Matters Day at the Capitol!

On May 22, Crestwood was once again proud to be one of the sponsors for Mental Health Matters Day–From Trauma to Hope, at the Capitol in Sacramento. Mental Health Matters Day brings together the community and organizations to help better the lives of those living with mental health challenges and strengthening the movement to end stigma. The event featured Keynote Speaker, Ruthie Bolton a two-time Gold Medal Olympian and former WNBA Sacramento Monarch star, who shared her person experience with trauma and recovery.

A special thanks to Crestwood Center Sacramento Campus Administrator, Adrain Smith, who came out to help staff our table and talk with people. It was a wonderful and inspiring day!

Lee Ann Labrie Receives Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award!

Congratulations to our very own Lee Ann Labrie, Administrator at Crestwood Manor in Fremont, for being awarded the 2019 Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award by the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA)! This award is based on the premise that a facility’s excellence reflects leadership excellence and fewer than 7% of facilities nationwide qualify. The leadership award was celebrated at ACHCA’s Annual Convocation and Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky on Monday, March 18. 

This award is a testament to Lee’s dedicated leadership that embodies our Crestwood values every day and the amazing staff at Crestwood Manor. We are so proud of you Lee!

Crestwood’s Two New Directors of Operations!

Welcome to our two new Directors of Operations, Michael Bargagliotti and Matt Yarwood! Michael and Matt will be joining Pam Norris, Crestwood’s Vice President of Operations and Cindy Mataraso, Director of Operations, in the oversight of our 22 campuses.

Michael has worked for Crestwood for more than four years where he started out as the Administrator of Crestwood San Diego and Crestwood Chula Vista. In 2016, Michael then made the transfer to be the Administrator of the Crestwood San Jose campus, where he gradually reorganized the campus leadership and gained the experience of also operating a PHF.

Matt comes to Crestwood with extensive experience in Skilled Nursing Facility leadership. He has been a licensed Skilled Nursing Facility Administrator since 2001 and has Regional Director experience, overseeing numerous facilities.

Congratulations to Michael and Matt on their new positions!

Crestwood’s new President and COO and VP of Operations!

We are proud to announce that Derek Dobbins is our new President and Chief Operating Officer. Derek has been with Crestwood for 15 years and has been a Director of Operations and an Administrator of one of our largest campuses, Crestwood Manor Stockton. George Lytal is remaining at the helm of Crestwood as our CEO and will continue providing guidance, wisdom and oversight of our entire organization. Pam Norris has been promoted to Vice President of Operations and will lead in its oversight. Pam will continue to support us with startups and overseeing campuses.

Congratulations Derek and Pam!

Crestwood at Transformation in Behavioral Health Panel!

On November 15 in Las Vegas, Moss Adams hosted, as part of their 2018 Health Care Conference, the Transformation in Behavioral Health Panel. The panel of experts included Crestwood’s very own Executive Vice President, Patty Blum, PhD; Patrick Connell, RN, VP of Behavioral Health, Compliance and Government Relations-Boys Town National Research Hospital; Nitin Nanda, MD, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Aligned Telehealth; and Brandon Staglin, President of One Mind. The panel was moderated by Shawn Coughlin, Executive VP for Government Relations and Public Policy, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare.
The panel session focused on milestones occurring in behavioral health and how these changes are disrupting traditional models with respect to access to care, research, access to care, lessons learned and exciting new developments for the future, including mental health apps.

Thank you Patty for your excellent and invaluable contribution to the panel discussion and doing an amazing job representing Crestwood! You make us all proud!

Check out the entire Transformation in Behavioral Health Panel on YouTube-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxwlBnORqiA

Creating Workplace Wellness Webinar!

Creating Workplace Wellness Webinar

On November 29, Copeland Center presented a webinar, Create Workplace Wellness, that featured Crestwood and how we are working to transform our workplace and workforce to a place of Wellness by creating "Organizational Wellness Landscape," (The OWL Project).

We spend a large part of our life at "work" and we all know how crushing an unhappy workplace can be. Determined to create an environment of support and hope - Crestwood has made the extraordinary decision to bring wellness to its staff. It's an incredible story of an organization who recognizes staff must practice wellness in order to share it with the people it serves. Patty Blum, Crestwood Executive Vice President and Greg Parnell, ALWF, and Crestwood’s Health and Wellness Facilitator represented Crestwood and shared the amazing work our staff are doing for wellness on our campuses.

This webinar will help you rethink how you want your workplace to look.
Below is a link to sign in and view this informative amazing the webinar
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/8394730991280734209

Peer Workforce Summit!

On November 2, in collaboration with Resilience Inc., Crestwood was proud to host the Peer Workforce Summit that was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. The Summit, funded by a MHSA OSHPD grant, provided a wonderful opportunity for participants from Crestwood, Dreamcatchers and local behavioral health county representatives, to network with colleagues, listen and learn from experts in the field, and gain an understanding on integrating peer personnel in the workforce. Pioneers in recovery and resilience, Gene Johnson and Lori Ashcraft of Resilience Inc., spoke at the Summit and the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Larry Davidson, a Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of the Program for Recovery and Community Health at Yale University, presented “Inclusion, Integration and Education of a Peer Workforce in a Behavioral Health Setting.” The event was a great success and inspired participants with new ways to effectively increase, retain and support our peer workforce.

Crestwood Presents at the Fall 2018 CASRA Conference!

Crestwood once again made a big splash at the Fall 2018 CASRA Conference that was held October 30 in Pasadena. CASRA conferences are regarded as one of the state’s finest training opportunities to promote the wellness, recovery and rights of people with mental health issues. Rhonda VanCleve, LCSW, and Sarah Wilt, MPH, from our Bakersfield campus, presented “Empathy Enhancement for Behavioral Healthcare Staff” and Alec Atkin, Crestwood’s Director of Performance Improvement, presented “Using Six Sigma to Solve Difficult Client Care Issues.” Both presentations were very well-attended and well-received by participants.

Dreamcatchers Celebrates their 5th Annual Client Recognition Event!

On October 18th, Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network came together at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield, to celebrate the success of their clients as they recognized those who have been hired during the past year. This year’s Client Success Recognition Event’s theme was “Life is like a Story, Make Yours a Bestseller.” The event was another huge success with more than 80 clients, families, and employers, along with state and county officials, attending.  The day was filled with wonderful stories of perseverance and inspiration from their clients as they shared how Dreamcatchers and finding employment has changed their lives and family members who shared how being employed has changed their loved ones’ lives. The event also included a silent auction and raffle.

This celebration event provides a great way to honor and shine the spotlight on Dreamcatchers’ clients who have worked so hard for all their accomplishments and how they have taken charge of changing their lives. Congratulations to all the Dreamcatchers and their continued success!

Crestwood San Diego’s MHRC Expansion, Hummingbird Healing House Open House!

On September 25, Crestwood San Diego proudly hosted its Open House, along with its 50th Anniversary campus celebration, for the expansion of their MHRC services and the opening of their new 16-bed transitional residential treatment program, Hummingbird Healing House. Crestwood San Diego’s campus, located on the former Promise Hospital site, has now been totally renovated to create a beautiful, homelike environment throughout the entire building. The renovation has expanded the MHRC by 67 beds and for a total of 109 MHRC beds and created Hummingbird Healing House, a Social Rehabilitation Program, that offers clients a gentle place to land and a supportive place to launch with their Full-Service Provider team.

Crestwood San Diego’s staff provided tours of the campus, so attendees could experience Crestwood’s healing environment first-hand, which includes soft, soothing paint colors and art work, serenity room, comfort room, welcoming room, dining room, library, spa, mindfulness garden, computer lab, gym, living room and sitting room which features television screens that show virtual fish tanks for creating a relaxing environment.

More than 200 people attended the Open House and guests included clients, family members, Home Office staff, community partners and stakeholders, San Diego County Behavioral Health Services staff, a representative from the San Diego Mayor’s Office, a local news station, KPBS and representatives from their local councilmember’s office who provided them with a certificate of acknowledgment for their role and partnership in the community.

Congratulations Crestwood San Diego on a stunning, welcoming campus that will now be able to provide recovery services to more clients in need in the community and welcome Hummingbird Healing House to our Crestwood family!

Compliments to the Chef at Freise Hope House!

Letter to the Editor at the Bakersfield Californian: Compliments to the chef

Jul 31, 2018

Clients of Freise Hope House in Bakersfield are among an especially cared for local population in need of special supports while transitioning from challenge riddled lives, to roads with brighter futures. Those fortunate enough to receive Crestwood's services at this particular location always marvel at the exceptional quality of the menu items prepared by an amazingly talented and compassionate modest member of the staff, simply known as "Daniel G."

No words of praise can begin to describe the culinary expertise and sheer gift of yummy delight this gentleman demonstrates daily with his natural talent in the kitchen. Not only are the dishes carefully prepared to be highly nutritious, but simply put, they set the gold bar standard for flavorful goodness! Always delicious, the portions are generous, created especially fresh and perfectly seasoned. Daniel's professionalism and modest reputation are but two stand out characteristics describing someone who's both valued by guests and his fellow staff members. Hats off to an especially bright star who inevitably makes the stay at this transition home a favorably memorable one! Extremely well done, Daniel!

Beth Hudson, Bakersfield
https://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-compliments-to-the-chef/article_7c4f5da0-9476-11e8-8b82-0f645ce907ee.html

Crestwood Opens Crisis Stabilization Unit

Crestwood opened our first Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) and services for Solano County in Fairfield on June 28th. The CSU will serve adults and children, providing a warm, loving, safe space for a person in crisis. For many, it will be the first encounter with the mental health system. The CSU will give Crestwood staff the opportunity to demonstrate every day our flexibility value by bending without breaking, shifting and modifying the day to meet the needs of each individual that comes through the doors. We have transformed the environment into a warm, inviting place for children with gaming chairs and provided a comfortable, serenity space for adults. The CSU exudes creativity and recovery from the welcome area, to the yard, to the full staff that includes peers, compassionate nurses, clinicians and physicians that have been trained to engage and meet each person exactly where they are at. Welcome Crestwood CSU to our family!

Mental Health Matters Day at the Capitol!

On May 23rd, Crestwood was proud to be one of the sponsors for Mental Health Matters Day at the Capitol in Sacramento. Mental Health Matters Day brings together the community and organizations to help better the lives of those living with mental health challenges and strengthening the movement to end stigma. The event featured speakers, including Darryl “DMC” McDaniels from Run DMC, who shared his story of lived experience with mental health challenges. Also, an emotionally powerful exhibit called Send Silence Packing, featuring backpacks and personal stories from those who have lost a loved one to suicide, was featured across the Capitol lawn.

A special thanks to Sacramento Center Campus staff (Adrain Smith, Rachel Harris and Shaniece Hill) who came out to help staff our table and talk with people, as well as bringing some of their clients to experience the event. It was a wonderful day!

Crestwood Bakersfield is Celebrating!

Our Crestwood Behavioral Health Bakersfield campus was nominated and awarded the “No Place Like Home” award during the 19th annual Academy Awards celebration in May for Mental Health Awareness Month. The event, sponsored by Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, along with several community partners, such as NAMI of Kern County, celebrates clients in recovery, mental health professionals, and facilities that embody recovery, while reducing stigma during this annual celebration. Crestwood Bakersfield was not only honored to attend this wonderful event, but to take home an award as well! Our clients truly are at home with us in Bakersfield.

Another winner to celebrate this month is our very own Sukhdeep Kaur, RN, BSN, Director of Nursing for the Bakersfield MHRC. Sukhdeep was awarded the State of California’s Certification of Recognition for her work in education and healthcare. What a wonderful way to end Nurses Week! Way to go Sukhdeep, we are truly so proud!

Crestwood San Diego Celebrating at the Behavioral Health Awards!

On June 1, staff from Crestwood San Diego, Crestwood Chula Vista and the Sacramento Home Office, gathered at the San Diego Mission Valley Marriott to attend the 32nd Annual Behavioral Health Recognition Dinner.  The event is a chance to celebrate and recognize individuals and groups who provide outstanding service in San Diego County’s behavioral health field. Crestwood was also proud to be one of the event’s sponsors.

At this year’s event, Crestwood San Diego’s Norma Crespo was awarded Administrative Professional of the Year! In front of more than 600 people, Norma accepted her award and gave a moving speech that focused on her 25- year journey with Crestwood. She talked about how she started as a dishwasher at the Napa Valley campus and worked her way up to the Director of Administrative Services at the San Diego campus. She shared how she learned English by interacting with our clients, who she said were her teachers. She also put herself through school, so that she would be eligible for promotion opportunities. Norma is an inspiration and a living example of hard work and perseverance. We are so proud of you Norma!

Crestwood Receives its 6th CARF Accreditation!

Crestwood Receives its 6th CARF Accreditation for its Continued Dedication and Achievement to Higher Standards

When an organization sets its goals to meet higher standards than is required by licensing agencies, payer sources, community stakeholders and industry standards, and then goes on to achieve those goals, it is an extraordinary accomplishment. Crestwood Behavioral Health Inc. is proud once again to have achieved just that accomplishment. In March 2018, Crestwood received the highest-level of Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities’ (CARF) Three-Year Accreditation of our 24 community programs, accounting office and corporate office. This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

Crestwood’s was recognized for many of our accomplishments during the survey.
Please click on "Get" below to read more on our highlighted strengths from the survey.

Crestwood at the CASRA Conference!

Crestwood was a big presence at this year’s California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies’ (CASRA) Spring Conference that was held in Concord on May1 and 2. CASRA conferences are regarded as one of the state’s finest training opportunities to promote the wellness, recovery and rights of people with mental health issues.   

Crestwood presented four of the 30 workshops that participants could attend and they included “Employment: Reaching your Dreams” by Regina Kaiser (Dreamcatchers) and Ruth Gonzales (San Francisco Healing Center); “Healing Stigma, Prevention & Intervention” by Patty Blum (Sac Home Office) and Ruth Gonzales; “Improving Resiliency for Peers and Professionals Working in Recovery” by Rhonda VanCleve, Tina Healy and Sarah Wilt (Crestwood Bakersfield); and “Using Six Sigma for Performance Improvement in Behavioral Health” by Alec Atkin (Sac Home Office) and Joel Mensonides (San Francisco Healing Center). All presentations were very well-attended and well-received by participants.

Tina said about their presentation, ”Thank you so much! We enjoyed the experience and felt proud to represent our amazing organization.” Patty complimented all the presenters saying, “You guys were amazing . So polished and represented Crestwood beautifully. I was so proud of your presentations and each one of you.”

Lee Ann Labrie Receives Leadership Award!

Congratulations to our very own Lee Ann Labrie, Administrator at Crestwood Manor, Fremont, for being awarded the 2018 Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award by the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA)! This award is based on the premise that a facility’s excellence reflects leadership excellence and fewer than 11% of facilities nationwide qualify. The leadership award was celebrated during the awards luncheon at the ACHCA’s 52nd Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida on April 24th.

Lee said on winning the award, “The truth is, I am embarrassed to accept an award with just my name on it. There are more than 240 employees at Crestwood Manor and their names should be next to mine. They are smart, dedicated and surround me with their support. They are the true heart, soul and brains of our facility. I am filled with gratitude each day that I am fortunate enough to be part of such a wonderful team. It is because of them, that we have received this recognition. They are my inspiration for striving to become a better leader and human being."

Crestwood San Francisco Healing Center’s Open House Celebration!

On March 5th, Crestwood’s newest 54-bed MHRC, San Francisco Healing Center, held its Open House that celebrated the groundbreaking partnership between Crestwood, UC San Francisco, Dignity Health, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, San Francisco Public Health and San Francisco Behavioral Health. The San Francisco Healing Center is located on the 5th Floor of St. Mary’s Medical Center and overlooks the beautiful Golden Gate Park.

The Open House kicked off with a press event and ribbon cutting which began with a blessing from Sister Mary Kieffer, from St. Mary’s and included speakers San Francisco’s Mayor Mark Farrell; Barbara Garcia, Director of San Francisco Department of Public Health; Lloyd Dean, President & CEO of Dignity Health; Mark Laret, President & CEO of UCSF Health; and Patty Blum, Crestwood Executive Vice President.
(To view the Press Event go to: sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=18&clip_id=29984

“When serious mental health issues go untreated, they can tear families apart and divide our communities,” said Mayor Farrell. “We are providing real solutions, so our at-risk residents can receive the focused care they need on their path to recovery. By providing a healing environment in a model program, we’re excited to help individuals restart their lives.”

Patty also presented plaques to honor those who worked tirelessly to make the San Francisco Healing Center a reality and they included Mayor Mark Farrell; Barbara Garcia; Kelly Hiramoto, San Francisco Department of Public Health; Maga Jackson-Triche, UCSF Health; Rita Ogden, UCSF Health; John Allen, St. Mary’s Medical Center; George C. Lytal, Crestwood’s President & CEO; and Janet Vlavianos, Crestwood’s Director of Development and Corporate Initiatives. “The San Francisco Healing Center shows a collective commitment to recovery and will help those with mental health issues return to productive roles in society,” said Patty. “This supportive process is at the core of everything we do at Crestwood.”

More than 250 people attended the Open House. San Francisco Healing Center staff provided tours of the campus so attendees could experience Crestwood’s beautiful homelike, healing environment first-hand, which includes our soft, soothing paint colors and art work, serenity room, comfort room, welcoming room, dining room, library, living room and sitting room which features television screens that show virtual fish tanks for creating a relaxing environment.

San Francisco Healing Center’s innovative program continues Crestwood’s commitment to providing mental health clients a continuum of care that puts them on the road to recovery, while restoring a sense of hope, empowerment, community/natural support inclusion and realized potential. “With this new program, we will be able to bring people home, and to provide treatment to San Franciscans in their own community,” said Barbara Garcia. Crestwood is honored to be able to provide these recovery services for our clients in San Francisco.

Welcome San Francisco Healing Center to the Crestwood family!

Crestwood Redding’s 30th Anniversary!

In February, Crestwood Wellness & Recovery Center in Redding celebrated 30 years of service in the Redding community. The campus celebrated with a luncheon, raffles, t-shirts and a variety of special gifts. Administrator, Nicoletta Groff, said, “I’m grateful to work for a company and staff that have such incredible compassion for the people we serve.” Congratulations Crestwood Wellness & Recovery Center!!

Congratulations Crestwood Peer Support Program Graduates!

Congratulations Crestwood Peer Support Program Graduates!
It is with great excitement and pride that Crestwood congratulates our staff who are recent graduates of the Peer Personnel Training Program with Resilience, Inc.

This internationally recognized college-level program enhances the peer support skills of our staff, while empowering them to be more self-directed and competent in providing recovery and resilience services to the people we serve. In addition, graduates have an opportunity to use their new skills to enhance service delivery and strengthen the recovery and resilience philosophies and practices within Crestwood.

In 2017, 37 staff from American River, Angwin, Chula Vista, Dreamcatchers, Eureka, Freise, Fresno Bridge, Kingsburg, Pleasant Hill, Sacramento Center, Sacramento Home Office, San Diego, Solano and Vallejo completed an interactive online program; and in February 2018, 20 staff from our new San Francisco Healing Center completed a 2-week, 80-hour onsite program. The training included required coursework and electives (peer practices, case management, crisis response, triage, resilient learning and leadership, cultural competency, and more). Graduates have also completed a 6-month mentoring phase or are in the process of completing their mentoring.

We are very grateful for our Peer Support Services Staff and their commitment to building resilience on a foundation of recovery and whole health.

Remembering a Crestwood Leader

As we commence our 50th year, we celebrate many successes and we recognize some losses. In late December, we had a significant Crestwood loss of one of our Board Members, shareholders and leaders, with the passing of MaryLou Glantz, at 87 years old.

MaryLou was with Crestwood for more than 30 years and championed many causes. She exemplified our Crestwood values and was above all, graceful. She was pivotal in opening doors for women in leadership at Crestwood. She was our first female executive and provided a roadmap for women to step into leadership roles in our organization. MaryLou served as the Vice President of Employee Relations, a member of the Board of Directors, and became Executive Vice President in 1997. This was an extraordinary achievement at the time for a woman in this field. She recognized the balance for women in supporting their families, while helping Crestwood become the leading provider of behavioral health throughout California.

Her legacy also includes being a champion for employees, she could find the synthesis of two sides to every story. Among her many talents, MaryLou also brought her ability to pull diverse groups of people together and created several taskforces and committees to make purchasing decisions, branding choices, and even to come to consensus on our goals, values and mission. These groups included people from the field, Administrators, and Home Office staff. Her grace carried many initiatives forward and her energy and dedication brought them to fruition.

As Crestwood celebrates 50 years, we remember MaryLou who left us with a rich legacy of achievements to be proud of today, but with her passing, a loss we feel deeply.

Coats of Love

For the first time this fall, Crestwood as an organization was excited to participate in the One Warm Coat Drive (www.onewarmcoat.org) to collect coats to help those in need in our community to stay warm this winter.  One Warm Coat is a national non-profit organization that works to provide a free, warm coat to any person in need.

More than 20 Crestwood campuses participated in the coat drive, collecting a total of 776 coats! The month-long drive was also a competition between campuses, inspired by the generosity of American River Administrator Nancy Soncrant, to see who could collect the most coats. Coats were collected from Crestwood staff, clients and visitors and then they were donated to local charities in each community. Congratulations to the winners who collected the most coats this year-Freise HOPE House in Bakersfield and the Sacramento Home Office, each collecting 90 coats!  Idylwood Care Center came in third place with 50 coats collected and $200 in donations. Nancy said, “This drive really got us in the spirit of giving.  As leaders in the community, it is important that we spread our impact beyond our individual campuses – we have the power to make a larger difference, which I think this competition proved.”  Thank you to all those in the Crestwood community that donated, and keep your eyes out for future collection drive competitions! We are making a difference in our communities!

Congratulations Crestwood ALWF Graduates!

It is with great enthusiasm and anticipation that we announce our newly trained Crestwood Advance-Level WRAP Facilitators (ALWFs). The ALWF application, training and mentoring process is a commitment that comes with great passion and excitement from our newly trained staff.

In October, a select group of Crestwood staff attended the 5-day ALWF Course and learned how to train and prepare new WRAP Facilitators. These ALWFs are experienced facilitators with an in-depth knowledge and mastery of both WRAP and facilitation skills. Following the training, they will continue with the AWLF mentoring process in developing the skills and knowledge to train others to do this work faithfully and in a manner that is consistent with the evidence-based practice of WRAP.
 
Please join us in congratulating our inaugural Crestwood ALWF class, and look for them on your campuses as they support our WRAP Initiative and OWL Project!

Dreamcatchers 4th Annual Client Recognition Event

Awareness Month, Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network celebrated the success of their clients as they recognized those who have been hired during the past year.

The Dreamcatchers’ annual Client Success Recognition Event was held at the Holiday Inn in Sacramento and was a huge success with clients, families, and employers, along with state and county officials attending.  The day was filled with wonderful stories of perseverance and inspiration from their clients as they shared how Dreamcatchers and finding employment has changed their lives. There was not a dry eye in the house as family members shared how being employed has changed their loved ones’ lives.

This celebration event was a great way to honor and shine the spotlight on Dreamcatchers’ clients who deserve every bit of praise for their accomplishments and how they have taken charge of changing their lives. Congratulations to all the Dreamcatchers and their continued success!

The Crestwood Olympics Celebrates its 10th Anniversary!

When a vision is followed up with decisive action everything is possible. Ten years ago after the 2007 Summer Olympics in China, our tenured Activity Director at Crestwood Solano had a vision. She wanted our clients across the company to be able to participate in their own Olympics. Before you knew it , we had podiums built, games planned, medals ordered, the celebratory lunch planned, and invites sent out to our sister campuses and voilà, we had our first annual Crestwood Olympics at a local park in Vallejo!

Every year this event has grown and evolved to include different campuses and new games. The opening ceremony, the music, the passing of the torch, the competitive events, along with the closing medal ceremony, has become part of the honored traditions for this popular annual Crestwood event. Over the years our games have included the javelin throw, the discus throw, the 50-yard dash, the long jump, the relay race, a basketball tournament, and this year we added an obstacle challenge course, with obstacle pieces custom built by our Solano team. The staff from our Crestwood campuses bring their “A” game when it comes to the our Olympics. Each staff person involved is a bright and shining mirror reflecting every single one of our Crestwood values. Our values of commitment and enthusiasm are especially evident every thrilling moment of this event!

This year marked the 10th Anniversary of the Crestwood Olympics and was attended by seven Crestwood campuses on September 28th. One client told us that he comes to the Olympics, “to give it my all!” This singular comment alone is the motivation that compels us to come together every year for this incredible event and reminds us of what is possible for our clients as they journey forward on the road of hope and recovery.

Crestwood Once Again Goes National at the 2017 PRA Summit!

Crestwood was one of the proud presenters at the 2017 national Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association’s (PRA) Wellness and Recovery Workforce Summit that was held June 24-26 in Atlanta, Georgia. The 2017 Wellness and Recovery Workforce Summit offers a comprehensive line up of in-depth psychiatric rehabilitation training and enhanced networking opportunities and special events to provide attendees with the tools they need to help others more effectively. Patty Blum, PhD, Crestwood Vice President of Operations, Ruth Gonzales, ALWF, Crestwood Wellness and Recovery Educator and Regina Kaiser, Executive Director of Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network, presented at the event with two presentations- Healing Community Trauma Through Resiliency and Healing Through Spiritual Practices with a Trauma-Informed Lens. Both presentations were very well-received from participants.

Crestwood was also one of the event’s sponsors and had a display table in the exhibitor hall, where Patty, Ruth and Regina, provided participants with information about Crestwood and Dreamcatchers, sharing the wellness and recovery work we do in building resiliency by providing our staff with the most advanced Evidence-Based Recovery Services training that is integrated into all levels of care for our clients. More than 1,000 individuals from around the world attended the conference. Thank you Patty, Ruth and Regina for doing such an amazing job representing Crestwood and Dreamcatchers!

Crestwood’s Amazing Team at WRAP Around the World Conference!

The annual Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery’s WRAP Around the World Conference was held June 5-7 in Sacramento. This conference brought together people in recovery, peer specialists, professionals, and supporters. It was a time to share with people from all over the world about wellness and recovery skills, strategies, and stories. Crestwood was not only a sponsor of the event, but also presented the Organizational WRAP Landscape (O.W.L.) project with the Copeland Center.

In addition to Crestwood’s O.W.L. presentation, two more Crestwood staff members participated in the conference. Our very own Greg Parnell, Director of Education at Crestwood Eureka and Crestwood’s Zumba instructor extraordinaire, led the Zumba Let it Move You classes and demos throughout the conference. And Linda Johnson, Director of Recreational Therapy at Crestwood Bakersfield, presented, as well as hosted a table; to showcase the WRAP games she has developed such as WRAP Family Feud, Jeopardy, Bingo, Old Maid and Candy Land. Linda’s motto is, “Playing well, keeps us well!”

We are so honored to have such an amazing, innovative and talented team representing Crestwood!

Freise HOPE House and SAMHSA Webinar

On May 22 Becca Ollivier (Administrator), Ronald Cordy (Recovery Educator), and Patty Blum (Executive Vice President), presented Freise HOPE House’s approach to crisis services as part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Center for Trauma-Informed Care and Alternatives to Seclusion and Restraint (NCTIC) webinar series, Trauma-Informed Innovations in Crisis Services.  This webinar was the second in the six-part series and was an amazing opportunity to showcase to a national audience Crestwood’s peer-operated services and the important role that peers play in the recovery of the people we serve.

We are so proud of Becca, Ronald and Patty for their excellent presentation and being incredible representatives for Crestwood!

Crestwood Healing Center wins Green Business Awards!

Congratulations to Crestwood Healing Center Pleasant Hill for winning not only the CoolCalifornia Small Business Award that recognizes California businesses that have made notable, voluntary achievements in reducing their climate impact, but also Pleasant Hill Community’s Green Business Award! Crestwood Healing Center received the Green Business Award at the 46th Annual Pleasant Hill Community Award Ceremony that was held on February 21 and received the CoolCalifornia Award on March 20 in Sacramento. Both awards are in recognition of Crestwood Healing Center’s Green Machine team that implemented many sustainability practices and changes, saving more than two million gallons of water and thousands of dollars by reducing usage of throwaway items such as plastic cups, paper napkins and paper towels. Their staff and residents also participate in community cleanup activities and do community education.

Travis Curran, Crestwood Healing Center’s Campus Administrator, said, “It was special in many ways, including the fact that the city that was worried about our impact 15 years ago is now celebrating it. Our staff and clients are thrilled and have something tangible to show that they do make a difference and contribute to their communities. This has been really awesome!”

Way to go everyone at Crestwood Healing Center! You are making a positive impact on our environment!

Crestwood Kicks Off the New Year with CRM Training!

Crestwood is excited to kick off 2017 with our pilot Community Resiliency Model (CRM) Training that was held the second week in January at our San Diego Campus. Trauma Resource Institute Facilitators led the two-day training where participants learned to not only help themselves, but to help our clients and others within a wider social network. The primary focus of this skills-based, stabilization program is to re-set the natural balance of the nervous system. CRM skills help individuals understand their nervous system and learn to track sensations connected to their own well-being, which is called the “Resilient Zone.” The goal is to help create trauma-informed and resiliency-informed communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach. Applying the skills proactively in distressed communities or neighborhoods can alleviate the symptoms of chronic stress by enhancing resiliency and empowering individuals to change their situation.

The next pilot CRM training will be held January 23 and 24 at our Crestwood Bakersfield campus. Upon completion of CRM Skills Training, participants may then qualify for our CRM Train-the-Trainer event that is scheduled for February 2017.

CRM Training will be a great resource for our clients and staff to help them with their self-care and wellness skills!

A quick orientation on what CRM is about:
https://youtu.be/L8UISCEpSlE

Zumba Gold Comes to Crestwood!

Last year, Crestwood began offering Zumba classes to our staff and clients and trained 11 licensed Zumba instructors. Crestwood’s Zumba program is led by Greg Parnell, Director of Education at Crestwood Eureka. Greg travels to all of our campuses to help our licensed Zumba instructors plan their classes, help with choreography, and incorporate classes into program schedules. After the initial role out of Zumba in our behavioral health facilities last year, Greg determined it was time to bring the Zumba Fitness program to our skilled nursing and neuro-behavioral facilities. This specialized type of Zumba is called Zumba Gold and it is designed for older adults. Last month, Greg, along with 25 Crestwood facility staff members, attended Zumba Fitness’ Jumpstart Zumba Gold training class that was held in Newark, CA. Greg said, “The Zumba Gold training was amazing because it focuses more on lower impact and modified choreography and included a chair class for wheelchairs and walkers.”

After this latest training, Crestwood now has 35 trained and licensed Zumba instructors, which means that we have a least one or more instructors for each one of our campuses! These instructors will continue to lead the Zumba charge that brings such a spark of excitement and joy in our facilities that helps to energize the mind, body and spirit of those clients and staff who experience and embrace it in their lives.

And on an additional note on Zumba at Crestwood-we are very proud to announce that Greg received the Zumba Instructors Network (ZIN) Unsung Heroes Award for November 2016!! The Unsung Hero program recognizes ZIN Members around the world for their outstanding contributions to their communities, and for their ability to inspire others. Congratulations Greg!! You are an inspiration to our clients and staff and are changing lives with your passion and dedication to Zumba!

Honored in Kingsburg!

Crestwood’s President & CEO, George Lytal, and Vice President, Patty Blum, were honored on October 5, 2016 for their contribution in providing healthcare for the citizens of Kingsburg and surrounding communities with the opening of the Kingsburg Healing Center. A letter from Congressman David G. Valadao, who represents California’s 21st District, and a flag that was flown over our nation's capital in honor of the Kingsburg Healing Center opening, were presented to each of them at the Kingsburg Tri-County Health Care District meeting.

“I have worked in healthcare since the early 1970s and been recognized many times, but not like this. I’m so humbled and honored to receive this,” said George. Patty echoed George’s sentiments, “This is such a great honor to receive this recognition. We are so proud of the Kingsburg Healing Center and the work we do every day helping people and their families in Kingsburg and throughout California.”

The Congressman's letter states, "This American Flag was flown over our nation’s capital in honor of the opening of the Crestwood Kingsburg Healing Center and the tremendous work of Crestwood Behavioral Health in serving the citizens of California. Thank you for your dedication in overcoming the challenges that comes with providing people with accessible health services. I hope your center is able to continue to provide new hope for the men, women, and children of the Central Valley."

Let the Games Begin!

On September 29th Crestwood Solano hosted its 9th annual Crestwood Olympics at Dan Foley Park in Vallejo. The event was another huge success with 50 clients participating from the Crestwood programs of Solano, Sacramento, Vallejo, Pleasant Hill, San Jose, Napa Valley and American River. As one client observed, “We have a mental illness and we can overcome big obstacles. The power within us is the way to excel.” And excel they all did at events such as the javelin throw, relay races, discus toss and 50-yard dash. One client said, “A great experience. I liked the events, the food, and the other people. We had a good time. I won a medal for the 50 yard dash!”

Participants received a certificate to commemorate the day and were also treated to a picnic. One staff member commented, “The Olympic event is an opportunity to bring clients and staff from so many Crestwood programs together. It is a fun day of friendly competition and we are really looking forward to the 10th Annual Crestwood Olympics next year!”

Helen Okeigwe, Program Administrator at Our House, summed up the event, “The greatest memory during the Olympics was not only watching our clients receive their awards, but seeing all the staff and clients working together as a team gave my joy.”

Next year will mark the 10th Anniversary of the Crestwood Olympics and they are already gearing up for this exciting event! Let the games begin indeed!

(Photo) Crestwood Center Sacramento celebrating the Olympics!

Motivational Interviewing Comes to Crestwood!

Last week, more than 100 staff from our facilities participated in learning about Motivational Interviewing (MI). The two-day training was led by Kristin Dempsey, LMFT, LPCC, who is a Senior Associate at CIBHS. Motivational Interviewing is a form of collaborative conversation for strengthening a person's own motivation and commitment to change. It is designed to strengthen an individual's motivation for and movement toward a specific goal by eliciting and exploring the person's own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion.

In the two-day training, participants learned about the “spirit” of Motivational Interviewing, the process of change, interaction techniques and strategies. They also learn how to identify, expand and work with “change talk.” Participants also learned that it is a skill that works well with our DBT program. The training then provided participants with the opportunity to practice MI skills in small groups.

Those who attended said they loved learning the MI skills and were excited to start using them with our clients to help them reach their recovery goals. MI provides our staff with another important skill that we can infuse into our programs to better serve our clients in their recovery journey.

Welcome Freise HOPE House!

On July 1st Crestwood assumed operations of Freise HOPE (Helping Others through Peer Empowerment) House, a 14-bed Crisis Residential Treatment program located in Bakersfield. Freise HOPE House adds a new type of program to our spectrum of services.

As a Crisis Residential Treatment program, Freise HOPE House provides a voluntary, short-term safe place to land for guests experiencing a psychiatric crisis. Our guests are greeted into a warm, homelike environment and we provide them with a variety of recovery-based tools such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) and Trauma-Informed Approaches to help them to manage their symptoms and develop skills to live effectively in the community. The clinical treatment team is comprised of people with lived experience, who are trained and certified peer providers, with a wide-array of clinical expertise. Our guests are also encouraged to utilize our Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network program that provides pre-vocational job skills training.

We are very excited to welcome the Freise HOPE House staff and guests to our Crestwood family!

To learn more about Freise HOPE House, please visit our Locations Page, under Bakersfield.

Congratulations Mertice “Gitane” Williams-CPRS/ICPRS!

Crestwood is proud to announce that our own Mertice “Gitane” Williams is now a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) and an International Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (ICPRS) by the California Consortium of Addictions Programs and Professionals (CCAPP). Peer Support Services involves advocating, mentoring, educating, and navigating systems, all of which are becoming an important component in our recovery-oriented system of care. The importance of the inclusion of peers with lived experience on teams with degreed clinicians is being increasingly emphasized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – in both addiction and mental health settings.

By Gitane becoming a CPRS/ICPRS signifies that she has demonstrated success in four domains- Advocacy, Ethical Responsibility, Mentoring and Education Recovery/Wellness Management, and can draw together resources and talents necessary to make recovery programming an integral part of our Crestwood treatment of services. There is a great demand for people who are Certified Peer Recovery Specialists in California and we are fortunate to now have our very own CPRS/ICPRS on our Crestwood team.

Gitane will continue in her role as Crestwood’s Vocational Wellness Educator, consulting with our Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network program, developing resource workbooks, and being a beacon of light within Crestwood and beyond.

This is an impressive international accomplishment for Gitane and Crestwood!

Crestwood Goes National at the 2016 PRA Recovery Workforce Summit!

Crestwood was one of the proud sponsors of the 2016 national Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association’s (PRA) Recovery Workforce Summit that was held May 22-25 in Boston, Massachusetts. The 2016 Recovery Workforce Summit offers a comprehensive line up of in-depth psychiatric rehabilitation training and enhanced networking opportunities and special events to provide attendees with the tools they need to help others more effectively. Patty Blum, Crestwood Vice President, and Regina Kaiser, Executive Director of Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network, attended the event to learn more about best practices, evidence-based practices, integrated healthcare, wellness and supported employment.

Since Crestwood was one of the event sponsors, we had a display table in the exhibitor hall, where Patty and Regina, when they were not attending a session, provided participants with information about Crestwood and Dreamcatchers, sharing the recovery work we do in building resiliency by providing our staff with the most advanced Evidence-Based Recovery Services training that is integrated into all levels of care for our clients. More than 1,000 individuals from around the world attended the conference. Thank you Patty and Regina for doing such a great job representing Crestwood and Dreamcatchers!

Kingsburg Healing Center Opens!

On February 1st Crestwood proudly opened the Kingsburg Healing Center, a Mental Health Rehabilitation Center (MHRC), located in the city of Kingsburg in Fresno County. Kingsburg Healing Center is Crestwood’s ninth MHRC.

The Kingsburg Healing Center was developed through a public-private partnership between Fresno County and Crestwood in which Crestwood redeveloped the former Kingsburg District Hospital to make it into a beautiful 44- bed facility that serves Fresno County’s clients and families. The facility was designed to be a homelike therapeutic environment that aids in recovery for our clients. There are soft, soothing paint colors and art work that are used throughout the facility to help create spaces such as the serenity room, comfort room, welcoming room, dining room, library, living room and sitting room which feature television screens that show virtual fish tanks for creating a relaxing environment.

Kingsburg Healing Center’s innovative programs are based on Crestwood’s commitment to providing mental health clients a continuum of care that puts them on the road to recovery. The facility’s mission is to restore a sense of hope, empowerment, community/natural support inclusion and realized potential in each client, as well as psychiatric stabilization. Crestwood is honored to be able to provide these recovery services for our clients in Fresno County.

Crestwood a Sponsor of the 2015 Annual NAMI Conference

This year Crestwood was one of the proud sponsors of the 2015 Annual NAMI Conference, Bringing Communities Together, that was held in Newport Beach on August 21 & 22. The conference featured a wide-range of workshops that focused on topics such as Advocacy, Criminal Justice, Client and Family Engagement, Affiliate Leadership and Transitional Aged Youth. The conference attracted more than 300 participants.

As one of the sponsors of the event, Crestwood had a table in the exhibitor hall where Lynn Gurko, Director of Recovery Services, and Kari Friesen, Director of Communications, handed out brochures and newsletters, and provided participants with more information about Crestwood and the services we offer. It was a great event and Crestwood received an overwhelmingly positive response from participants.

crestwood behavioral health inc. receives 2015 carf accreditation for its continued dedication and achievement to higher standards

When an organization sets it goals to meet higher standards than is required by licensing agencies, payer sources, community stakeholders and industry standards, and then goes on to achieve those goals, it is remarkable accomplishment. Crestwood Behavioral Health Inc. is proud to have achieved just that remarkable accomplishment.

Crestwood Presents Trauma-Informed Approaches and Practices
Mutuality and Collaboration Webinar to a national SAMHSA Audience

On August 20, 2014, Crestwood’s Patty Blum, Vice President, and Mertice “Gitane” Williams, Vocational Wellness Educator, presented a webinar for SAMHSA to a national audience on Trauma-Informed Approaches and Practices: Mutuality and Collaboration. Patty and Gitane focused on Crestwood’s journey to become a Trauma-Informed organization, through education and training of staff and incorporating it into all levels of service company-wide. They also shared information on the important role peer providers play in our facilities, as well as vocation training and job placement through Dreamcatchers Empowerment Network. The presentation introduced Crestwood to a national audience and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

To view: click and select open link or copy and paste in browser: http://nasmhpd.adobeconnect.com/p9pwugz2gxl/