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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Top 10 Posts of 2009

Happy New Year! We’re starting off 2010 with a look back at your favorite posts of last year. These were the posts you viewed the most in 2009.

1. A Life Saved by Inches
2. 5 Questions for Lynn Fahey, Executive Director
3. Recovery Month Contest: Make A Movie, Make a Difference
4. BCI Awarded Federal Funds for Homeless Program
5. Out of the Dark, A New Dawn
6. This Door Leads to Treatment, Not Back to Detox
7. BCI Names Lynn Fahey As Executive Director
8. Free Tax Preparation In Delaware
9. Remembering Iris Berman, Dedicated BCI Board Member
10. Lower the Drinking Age? How Would That Help?

There's Still Time to Donate in '09!

Dear Friends,

We at BCI hope you had a wonderful and joyous holiday, and we want to say thank you for your support all year!

If you're considering a year-end charitable gift, there is still time! And if you've already contributed, please forward this post to a friend.

There were so many BCI success stories to celebrate in 2009: Dawn's story, James's story, and Kevin's story, just to name a few. Right now, over 2,000 people are working on their recovery and trying to become the next success story. Your donation to Brandywine Counseling just might make a big difference for that person. It just might save a life.

You may donate conveniently and securely on bcidel.org. All donations are tax-deductible. Your help makes our work possible.

Have a very Happy New Year, and thank you in advance for your generosity!

Giving Tree Video: We're Happy Cause We're Helpin' People!

Here's some video from yesterday's Giving Tree toy giveway. This is what the holidays are all about. In true BCI style, we partied, we joked, we sang, and we got emotional to see some of our favorite success stories stop by. A big, big thank you to Jenner's Pond, Jillian Grace Salon, Sedona Fitness and Spa, and BCI staff for donating these wonderful gifts!

From our BCI family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas!

Giving Tree Creates Holiday Magic for BCI Clients

Today, Brandywine Counseling hosted a very special event, our first annual Giving Tree party. With the help of some generous friends, we made a little holiday magic and spread some cheer.

During the month of December, a toy drive was held to make some holiday wishes come true for our clients’ children. Several friends of BCI placed Giving Trees in their workplace, including Jenner’s Pond, Jillian Grace Salon, and Sedona Fitness and Spa. Their employees took tags from the tree and bought toys matching the age and gender of the child. We were wowed to see the mountain of gifts that came in! BCI staff also took part in the drive with our own Giving Trees at three of our locations.

Today, it was time for our elves to deliver the gifts in time for the Christmas Holiday. We hosted a “Give A Child A Gift" party at the Outreach Center, and we invited our clients to come over and choose a gift to give to their child. Refreshments were served and there was wrapping paper for parents to wrap gifts themselves.

One mom who picked up gifts for her five kids said, “It was very nice for Brandywine to do something like this.” A grandmother of two said, “This really helps. She’s gonna love the Playdoh!” Another mom who took a Lite Brite home to her daughter said, “It’s supposed to be for the kids, but it makes you feel good, too.”

You can see photos from the party here, and a video is coming shortly! Thank you to our generous donors for making our first-ever Giving Tree a success! You took time to reflect on all the “gifts” you have in your life and remembered those who could use a little help this year. You helped make this a wonderful time of year for them!