Friday, January 29, 2010

United Way Made Their Goal

United Way of Delaware announced yesterday they made their 2009 campaign goal of $20.5 million.

United Way President Michelle Taylor said, "These would be strong campaign results in any year, but they are truly inspiring considering the current economic situation. This success is a testament to Delaware’s giving spirit."

Campaign co-chair Diane Gulyas said, "This was a challenging year for Delaware, but businesses and individuals stepped up to meet the need of their neighbors. Thank you to everyone who participated in this campaign. Together, we are truly improving lives."

Thank you so much! Your generosity helps ensure our outreach team will continue to be out on the streets, opening windows of trust.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Patient Care So Good, It Makes Joint Commission Smile

Brandywine Counseling has passed our Joint Commission survey with glowing reviews. They visited all our treatment programs during the last two weeks and found outstanding patient care. Our surveyor Elaine remarked that she smiled through the whole process, and called BCI a well-oiled machine. Patients and families, you can be confident you'll get some of the best treatment in the nation here. Great job, staff!

Chris Zebley Honored with Surprise Party

Nurse Practitioner Chris Zebley was given a surprise party yesterday to celebrate his 2010 American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Nurse Practitioner Award for Excellence. Staff from BCI and Christiana Care attended and Chris was presented with a plaque. Congratulations, Chris! Your performance inspires us all and your success is well deserved.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

2010-11 Officers Elected

The Brandywine Counseling Board of Directors elected officers for 2010-2011 on January 19, 2010:

Carole Franzoni, President
Lisa Sherwood, Vice President
Karla Fleshman, Secretary
Jean Meussner, Treasurer

The Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers who support the mission of Brandywine Counseling by serving as our “eyes and ears” in the community, and sharing their time, advice, and expertise. Brandywine Counseling congratulates our new officers. We thank you for your service and look forward to working with you to serve people with addiction, mental health, and HIV-related challenges.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Alpha Clients Had Shorter Wait, Fewer No-Shows in 2009

A few highlights from our year-end review of client access and retention data at the Alpha outpatient program:
  • Your wait time went way down. The average time to the first individual session dropped from 18 days at the beginning of the year to 5 days. (see graph) We made it a priority to focus on your comfort at the Meet & Greet with your counselor, answering questions you had coming into the program, giving you tours of the building, and making sure we got you in soon for your individual session.

  • You got mental health services sooner. Your wait time dropped from 6 weeks to 1-2 weeks. We asked our nurse practitioner to help out our psychiatrist one day a week to write prescriptions and do medication checks. It really made a difference!

  • You kept your appointments more often. Your no-show rate for appointments was 21%, down from 24% in 2008. This was another priority for our counselors. We diligently reviewed our caseloads every week to keep track of who we needed to see, and made reminder phone calls.

Overall in 2009, Alpha saw 1827 people come in the door, admitted 860 and discharged 892. 19% of discharges were successful, and another 22% had some goals completed. We are proud and happy for your success, and we'll continue to improve our service to you in 2010.

Do you have an idea on how we can serve you better? Let us know! Use our suggestion box, send us an email, or speak to a staff member about your idea.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Welcome, Joint Commission Surveyors

A little bit like a student studying for their final exams, mixed with a homeowner tidying up the place for a very important guest. Tense and meticulous, yet confident. That’s the mood of the staff here at BCI as we prepare for a survey by Joint Commission.

All the light bulbs have been checked, the floors have been given an extra mopping, and there’s a fresh coat of sky blue paint on the wall at Lancaster. We're pulling together important documents, and making sure we know our policies inside and out. For me, it means checking the latest performance data, and taking a close look at why wait time is down, and successful discharges are up. Sure, we do this stuff throughout the year, we just give it extra attention at a time like this.

The Joint Commission last visited us in 2007, and they gave us high marks. Those of you who chose BCI for treatment have come to expect high quality services, and we work to provide you the best possible care. You trust us with your lives every day, not just when someone is watching. So even as we check and double check that all our i’s are dotted and our t’s crossed, we can be confident that excellent care will show through, just as you can be confident in your treatment.