SENATE RESOLUTION 19

(By Senators Woelfel, Baldwin, Jeffries, Plymale, and Stollings)

[Introduced January 27, 2020]

Recognizing Prestera Center for Mental Health Services for excellence in comprehensive community-based mental health and substance use treatment services.

Whereas, Prestera Center is dedicated to serving, first and foremost, the residents of the state of West Virginia with their behavioral health care needs, regardless of ability to pay; and

Whereas, Prestera Center is a non-profit 501(c)3, West Virginia-based organization with headquarters in Huntington, West Virginia, that provides services across eight counties in West Virginia (including Kanawha and Cabell Counties) serving over 20,000 adults, children, and families each year—and with 730 employees it is the 75th largest employer in the state; and

Whereas, Prestera Center’s mission is to provide effective, comprehensive behavioral health care services through a united effort, dedicated to helping people achieve their full potential; and

Whereas, Prestera Center has provided assertive community treatment (ACT) services that are intensive, multi-disciplinary, and continuous in the community for almost 20 years (including evenings, weekends, and after-hours on-call services).  Prestera Center has ACT teams in Huntington and Charleston, WV.  ACT is a client-centered, recovery-oriented mental health, evidence-based treatment that facilitates community living, psycho-social rehabilitation, and recovery for persons who have the most severe and persistent mental illnesses— those who have severe symptoms and devastating impairments in daily living, who have a history of lengthy inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations and have not benefited from traditional outpatient programs; and

Whereas, ACT services are provided by a team of professionals including a team leader, psychiatrist, registered nurse, mental health counselors, case managers, addictions counselor, support staff, and peer support specialists.  ACT teams build relationships and actively assist individuals with severe and persistent mental illness to make improvements in functioning, to better manage symptoms, to achieve individual goals, and maintain optimism.  In addition to professional treatment services, individualized supportive services are provided that ensure safe and affordable clean housing, improve home-making skills, including nutrition and cooking, self-care and personal hygiene, budgeting and money management, locate and maintain employment in the community, engage in self-help and advocacy activities, and develop leisure time management.  Seventy-five percent or more of the time spent in services is spent outside the office, at home, or out in the community; and

Whereas, Prestera Center’s ACT program in Huntington, WV, served 75 high-intensity, severe, and persistently mentally ill individuals in the past year and 98 percent remained in the community and were not admitted to a psychiatric inpatient facility.  These 75 adults received 7,982 contacts with ACT Team staff over the past year, averaging 106 contacts a person a year; and 

Whereas, Prestera Center is making a significant contribution to the behavioral health care needs of the citizens of West Virginia; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate:

That the Senate hereby recognizes Prestera Center for Mental Health Services for excellence in comprehensive community-based mental health and substance use treatment services; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Senate acknowledges and appreciates Prestera’s many contributions to citizens of the state of West Virginia since 1967; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to Prestera Center for Mental Health Services.