Shorehaven Behavioral Health, Inc.
April 14, 2020
UPDATE ON CORONAVIRUS, Week #4
Success with Tele-Therapy
SHOREHAVEN IS ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS AT (414) 540–2170
As a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment clinic, Shorehaven comes under the category of essential services. Our clinics are open. However, most of our work right now is by Telehealth.
We have increased our capacity to serve the need for psychotherapy for a community in crisis.
If you need help, call us at (414) 540–2170 for the Milwaukee area, or (262) 554–8165 for Racine & Kenosha.
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MOVING TO TELEHEALTH THERAPY
Three weeks ago, about 95% of our treatment moved over to Telehealth. Most of our in-home therapy program has moved to Telehealth. In our outpatient program, only a few clients, mainly those who cannot use the new technology, are seen in the office. WHEN WE DO AN ON-SITE, IN-PERSON INTERVIEW, OUR STAFF IS ADVISED TO TAKE THE HIGHEST PRECAUTIONS for safety and to help reduce the transmission of the virus.
We have accomplished an amazing transformation. In about 10 days' time, we moved the entire program to tele-therapy, received guidance from every insurance company and found them all willing to support tele-therapy, kept our offices disinfected, and maintained our crucial services without interruption.
The well-being of our clients and our staff in always our foremost concern. We continue to update our policies as the news evolves. As I wrote two weeks ago, "The message remains take Precautions, think Prevention, take note of Social Distancing, and maintain Cleanliness."
When it is safe to return to in-person live interviews in our office and in-home programs, we expect most of our therapy to be live, but we also expect a small percentage to continue to be tele-therapy.
BY NOW YOU ALL KNOW THE SYMPTOMS
Please report any fevers, sore throats, or dry coughs. If you are ill and not sure if it is a common cold, flu, or this new virus, please contact us at (414) 540–2170, in Racine: (262) 554–8165, and we'll have your session rescheduled. If you have breathing difficulties, from the guidance we have, that appears to be when to definitely seek medical attention if you have not already done so well before that point. Masks are a must in public places or if someone may have been exposed, in which case self-quarantine is necessary.
We ask our clients to wash their hands before any meetings with a Shorehaven staff member.
We found this carefully reasoned document about using masks and being in public, by Pal Tippett, MD PhD, very helpful.
If the client does not own a computer, tablet or smart phone, most of the insurers will pay for a telephone session. This is a very special situation for now, and probably will stop when the stay-home order is lifted. We also expect the State of Wisconsin to tighten up the guidelines for telehealth when this this crisis is over and emergency procedures stop.
To use Telehealth, please go on your computer to the free video conferencing site Zoom (zoom.us) to get a login name and password to use for sessions. You can also download the Zoom app on your computer, smart phone, or tablet. It’s incredibly simple. We know that Zoom has had some complaints, and in response they have issued two security updates just this past week.
In closing, I can't say enough about the committed efforts of Shorehaven’s Leadership team in organizing the movement to telehealth, our incredibly adaptable Clinicians who have so rapidly adopted a stunning level of change, and our steadfast and foundational Clinic Support and Billing Team. Wow! As we KEEP CALM AND STAUNCHLY PERSIST, it is April 14 and we are three weeks into what will be a process taking maybe three to eight more weeks. We are holding to our company goal to serve all of our clients and any who may contact us.
Sincerely,
Don Rosenberg and All the Staff of Shorehaven
Shorehaven Behavioral Health, Inc.
MARCH 23, 2020
UPDATE ON CORONAVIRUS, Week #2
An Essential Service
Today, Governor Evers told non-essential businesses to close and citizens to stay at home.
As a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment clinic, Shorehaven comes under the category of essential services. Our clinics will be open this week. However, almost all of our in-home treatment and a percentage of our outpatient work will be done by Telehealth video conferencing. For those clients who do not have the facilities to do video conferencing and who cannot come into the clinic, we can talk over the telephone.
Some outpatients will be coming into the clinic. We and our cleaning staff have been carefully disinfecting offices, hallways, and bathrooms frequently during the day. We have created 6'+ distances between chairs.
We are accepting new clients during this crisis. We imagine many people are having a difficult time and we are here to help.
We need to thank some people who have helped us so that we can continue our services.
First, our management staff, Carol Trout, Kathy Schwengel, Keli Cathy, and Lynn Godec, have worked tirelessly for the past eight days to check in with the insurance companies, read regulations, prepare new procedures, find precious cleaning supplies so we can keep our space disinfected, and communicate daily with our staff. Our Webmaster has been making changes as fast as we can suggest them. Todd Thomas reviewed the ethics and guidelines of Telehealth issued by a number of professional organizations. Zach Godec re-programmed our forms and supplied us with instructions for a Telehealth platform. Others have helped in ways that I may not be aware of and I thank them for their contributions.
Second, our psychotherapists and our valuable billing and clinic support departments have stepped up. They have been creative, careful with hygiene, quick to learn new procedures, studying Telehealth procedures, and working to maintain contact with our clients. Without the billing and support departments, the clinicians could not do their valuable work
Third, Anthem, Children’s Community Health Plan, Cigna, Community Care, My Choice, OPTUM (United Behavioral Health), Wisconsin Medicaid and some other insurance companies have risen to this emergency by authorizing something new, namely,direct Telehealth (telemedicine) video conferencing to clients in their homes. In a few cases, they have authorized telephone therapy.
Where Are We Today on Coping with the Pandemic?
Shorehaven offices are open this week. Once again, we do want to remind everyone that the well-being of our clients and our staff in always our foremost concern.
We are listening to the daily briefings and the news, watching for bulletins from the Centers for Disease Control and the State of Wisconsin, taking precautions to prevent viral transmission and to work towards your safety. The message remains take Precautions, think Prevention, take note of Social Distancing, and maintain Cleanliness
The situation is fluid. We will report when we have any new information.
Precautions, Prevention, and Cleanliness
- Please report any fevers, sore throats, or dry coughs. If you are ill and not sure if it is a common cold, flu, or this new virus, please contact us at 414-540-2170 (in Racine 262-554-8165) and we'll have your session rescheduled. if you have breathing difficulties, from the guidance we have, that appears to be when to definitely seek medical attention if you have not already done so well before that point.
- Clients who fall into a “high risk” category, such as a) those who are over 65, b) those who have compromised health, or c) those who have been in certain places or have been with people from those places, such as California, China, France, Iran, Italy, other areas in Europe, New York, or Washington State, please call and reschedule for at least two weeks later or only have therapy by Telehealth.
- We will have our psychotherapists clean surfaces in their offices many times per day. Our In-Home therapists will make sure to wash hands and to avoid homes in which someone is ill, though we suppose almost all of the work with in-home clients is being moved to Telehealth.
- We ask our clients to wash their hands before any meetings with a Shorehaven staff member.
- We are now providing therapy by Tele-health (also called Tele-therapy or Tele-medicine). That is therapy delivered by VIDEO CONFERENCE. During this crisis, you will be permitted to have your therapy from home by live video conference with your therapist. This service is permitted by insurers
- when the client is ill or taking care of an ill family member
- when the client is self-quarantined
- when the client is taking care of children who are unable to attend school or daycare
- if the therapist is ill or self-quarantined
- if the clinic is closed or the community is ordered to shelter-in-place or stay-at-home
- if the client or therapist think it would be more cautious and prudent
In those situations, if the client does not own a computer, tablet or smart phone, some of the insurers will pay for a telephone session. We do not know if these broad guidelines will continue after this crisis ends and emergency procedures stop.
To use Telehealth, please go on your computer to the free video conferencing site www.zoom.com and get a login name and password to use for sessions. You can also download the Zoom app on your computer, smart phone, or tablet.
Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Act last week. The act provides short term help to employees unable to work during this crisis. We also await word that Congress passes a major stimulus bill. Our team is studying the provisions of these bills and determining how those provisions will help our clients and our staff.
We so very much appreciate everyone’s support and understanding as we help care for you and at the same time keep our community healthy.
Sincerely,
Don Rosenberg and All the Staff of Shorehaven
Shorehaven Behavioral Health, Inc.
MARCH 19, 2020
UPDATE ON CORONAVIRUS, Week #1
Shorehaven offices are open this week. We do want to remind everyone that the well-being of our clients and our staff in always our foremost concern.
We view psychotherapy as an important service. We want our clients, and anyone who contacts us, to start receiving services to know we are taking precautions to make our offices as safe as we can. In some cases, we will move therapy to video conferencing.
During this troubling time of worry about Coronavirus (COVID-19), we are monitoring the Centers for Disease Control and State of Wisconsin recommendations. We are taking precautions to prevent viral transmission and to work towards your safety. To quote from the CDC:
"Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is characterized by mild symptoms including a runny nose, sore throat, cough, and fever. Illness can be more severe for some people and can lead to pneumonia or breathing difficulties. More rarely, the disease can be fatal. Older people, and people with other medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), may be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill."
It seems to be all about Prevention, Precautions, and Cleanliness.
1.) Please report any fevers, sore throats, or dry coughs. If you are ill and not sure if it is a common cold, flu, or this new virus, please contact us at 414-540-2170 (in Racine 262-554-8165) and we'll have your session rescheduled. If you have breathing difficulties, from the guidance we have, that appears to be when to definitely seek medical attention if you have not already done so well before that point
2.) Clients who fall into a “high risk” category, such as those who have been in certain places or have been with people from those places, such as China, France, Iran, Italy, other areas in Europe, Silicon Valley, New York, or Washington State, please call and reschedule for at least two weeks later.
3.) Out of an abundance of caution, clients over the age of 65, as well as clients with conditions that lower their immune functioning, such as cancer, lung disease, and diabetes, might consider rescheduling their appointments. We cannot tell at this time how far out in time it may be before the risk in neutralized.
4.) We will have our psychotherapists clean surfaces in their offices many times per day. Our In-Home therapists will make sure to wash their hands and avoid homes in which someone is ill.
5.) We ask our clients to wash their hands before any meetings with a Shorehaven staff member.
6.) Announcing we are now providing therapy by Tele-health (also called Tele-therapy or Tele-medicine). That is therapy delivered by VIDEO CONFERENCE. During this crisis, you will be permitted to have your therapy from home by live video conference with your therapist. This service is permitted by insurers.
° when the client is ill or taking care of an ill family member
° when the client is self-quarantined
° when the client is taking care of children who are unable to attend school or daycare
° if the therapist is ill or self-quarantined
° if the clinic is closed or the community is ordered to shelter-in-place
If those situations, if the client does not own a computer, tablet, or smart phone, some of the insurers will pay for a telephone session. We do not know if these broad guidelines will continue after this crisis ends.
To use Telehealth, please go on your computer to the free video conferencing site www.zoom.com and get a logon name and password to use for sessions. You can also download the Zoom app on your smart phone or tablet.
7.) Additional CDC Resources
Shorehaven lists these resources from the CDC and other reliable sources regarding COVID-19. Please keep yourself informed with information you can count on, and avoid websites that may provide inaccurate information.
• How It Spreads
• Symptoms
• Prevention and Treatment
• Protecting Your Home
• What To Do If You're Sick
We so very much appreciate everyone’s support and understanding as we help care for you, while at the same time keeping our community healthy.
Sincerely,
All the Staff of Shorehaven
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