Employee Testimonials:
Malwina Holynska’s Testimonial
“Our education, experience, and ability to give hope are what makes us valuable.”
We are the helpers. We graduate from different universities, and complete different postgraduate certificates, devoting our time and money so we can do justice by helping those, who are unprivileged.
We are our client’s voice, a voice they lost in generations of trauma and addiction. Our job doesn’t end when clients leave our office. We spend countless hours completing what seems like endless, redundant paperwork, so our clients can receive Substance Use Disorder Services (SUD) at a reduced cost or for free, as they wouldn’t receive those services at all, otherwise.
We are the consultants, providing non-emergency consultations to distressed members of our communities. We are the mandatory reporters. We are the case managers. We are what the clients need us to be to assist them in their process of change.
We are often tired and burnt out. Assisting others to navigate their trauma is a lot to carry most days, just like it is for emergency room workers, fire and law enforcement personnel, or any other safety net services in a community. It would be so much easier to join our fellow counselors in their path to private practice so we can care for ourselves and our families better by paying off our student loans sooner or by working fewer hours and being more available to our families, but who is going to serve those who cannot afford SUD services? Our clients have no insurance, by the nature of their disease; they often have very little if anything at all.
We chose this field for a reason. We show up every day because we are the only consistency and care our clients get in these difficult times of their lives. That is why we are asking you to help us do what we do best. And by helping us you will also be helping the communities we serve and you represent. We are asking you to reimburse us for the hard work we do every day by raising the reimbursement rate to 16%. We need your help.
Malwina Holynska, MS, LAC, on behalf of SUD counselors at CCS
Jessica Hendrickson’s Testimonial
As a case manager on an Individualized and Mobile Program of Assertive Community Treatment (IMPACT) team, I would like to share my testimonial on how a 16% increase rate would be greatly appreciated. IMPACT teams work with clients that have severe mental illnesses that have affected their ability, in a number of different ways, to live independently and successfully in the community.
IMPACT case managers meet with the clients we serve multiple times per day and per week spending the vast majority of time directly supporting our clients’ needs. Examples of this time spent would include, but not be limited to: planning and facilitating care coordination with community partners, advocacy for options of services that would meet our client’s needs, completion of medication assistance forms, and coordination with the client’s pharmacy for medication management, scheduling and coordinating medical and mental health appointments and communicating these with the client, communicating concerns and/or needs with client family members, researching community social gatherings that would benefit our clients to attend, and coordination of resources necessary for continuity of client care. IMPACT case managers complete a great deal of non-billable client support throughout our day that directly impacts our client’s care and needs.
This is hard work and although it is rewarding to help others there is a toll it takes on us daily. Working with clients that have suffered through trauma is challenging and being able to practice self-care is vital for our continued mental health. Low reimbursement rates equal low wages and we may need to work secondary jobs in order to financially meet our needs and the needs of our families. This reduces the amount of time that we can practice self-care. An increased rate would positively affect us case managers and would assist us in being able to provide the best client care to each and every one of our clients.
Jessica Hendrickson
IMPACT case manager
Tammy Dramstad’s Testimonial
I want to introduce myself. My name is Tammy Dramstad, MSW, CSW-PIP and I have had the privilege of working for Community Counseling Services for the past 20 years. I am passionate about serving the historically disadvantaged individuals that we encounter every week. Without CMHC many of these individuals would not be able to access services due to not having insurance or co-pays being too high.
I am concerned regarding the trend that I have seen unfolding in the last eight years. We are training high-quality therapists, however, once they receive their license they are moving on to Private Practice. These individuals share that they are leaving for a variety of reasons such as being able to work part-time and make the same salary as a full-time employee at CCS. They are leaving because the amount of State paperwork has become burdensome on therapists leading to burnout. And that is on top of the documents we complete to help clients achieve a better quality of life. For example, yesterday I completed a 20-page form regarding a review of a client’s symptoms in order for them to continue to receive disability. This is vitally important, but the 2.5 hours I spend on this task are non-billable for the CMHCs. These tasks are not the exception, but rather the norm for working with individuals who are diagnosed with severe mental illness and are socio-economically disadvantaged.
Clients often experience a renewal of trauma symptoms when their therapist leaves for Private Practice as they have to adjust to another therapist. This can be challenging as our clients come to us with attachment issues, fears of abandonment, and overall fears related to the symptoms they are experiencing. The last concern, I would like to highlight is that we work in a significantly rural area. It is difficult to recruit new therapists, as many therapists want the advantages that come with living in an urban environment such as cultural events, concerts, retail shopping, and more. I am worried that if CMHCs do not receive a rate increase of 16 percent we will not be able to recruit and retain therapists leading to significant wait lists for treatment. To summarize, as I stated earlier I am passionate about serving our clients. But sadly we cannot do so without being able to recruit or retain the high-quality therapists we so desperately need. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Tammy Dramstad, MSW, CSW-PIP
Outpatient Therapist.
Client Success Story
“I LOVE LUCY”
Dolores Wilken, Spanish Interpreter Crystal Dooley, Health Home Coordinator/ OP case manager
“Lucy” came to the Huron community in 2008 at the age of 46 from Puerto Rico. She came with her family. As a non-English-speaking community member; communication was hard for her. When she arrived in the Huron community she was healthy and was able to work full-time. She was soon diagnosed with thyroid complications which made her life very difficult and was a major change for her and her family.
In 2015 “Lucy” was referred to Community Counseling Services by her primary medical provider. “Lucy” started working with a case manager, therapist, and psychiatric provider. “Lucy” would not make eye contact, did not socialize with anyone, was scared to leave her home, and was not mentally capable of making her own decisions. She started attending groups at Community Counseling Services and also continued to meet for individual sessions.
“Lucy” has made great strides and positive improvements in her mental and physical health. She has learned to set boundaries, be assertive, make rational decisions, and loves to socialize in groups with others. She is now able to make other group members feel welcome, assist them with making positive choices, and be a support for other members of the group.
No matter what “Lucy” is facing she remains positive and able to make others laugh. “Lucy” is thankful for the services and support that she has received from Community Counseling Services and other community entities. She states that Community Counseling Services has changed her life and she feels more secure and able to manage her needs in a more positive and assertive manner.
