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The board accepted her resignation and referred to the board's personnel committee the question of how to proceed with recruiting and filling the director position.

Rogers began working for county health services as a part-time staff nurse 30 years ago. She served as supervisor for the family health division of county health services and the combined HHVS before being appointed HHVS director to succeed Dorothy Opheim, who retired in March 2009.

Frank Schaap, adult social services supervisor, informed the board a crisis mental health service program with Crow Wing, Aitkin, Wadena, Todd and Morrison Counties has been successful.

The program is designed to take services to people's homes to keep people out of hospital emergency rooms and jail when they hit a mental health crisis point.

There is a 24-hour daily crisis line telephone service available to any resident in those counties. If the person receiving the crisis phone call believes the situation may be critical, the Northern Pines Mental Health Center mobile crisis outreach team can be dispatched to the caller's home any time 24 hours a day.

The crisis team can make referrals to other help services, can accompany a person to a hospital emergency room (freeing law enforcement to continue patrolling) if needed or can gain admittance to inpatient treatment facilities within 24 hours if that appears warranted. Normally, there is a waiting list for treatment facilities.



Northern Pines also offers rapid access psychiatry, which sets up follow-up appointments for outpatient mental health services. This is a community-based response, Schaap said, to the closing of such facilities as Brainerd Regional Treatment Center.

On another HHVS program, Schaap asked the board Tuesday to permit him to hire a third social worker to handle vulnerable adult cases. These social workers assist adults age 18 to the grave who are elderly or developmentally disabled or suffer the effects of such injuries such as traumatic brain injuries.

The social worker can help transition people into assisted living services to prevent the need for them to go to a nursing home when it is no longer safe for them to stay in their own home, Schaap explained. With Cass's aging population, Schaap said there is increasing need and are an increasing number of assisted living residences available here. He cited new privately funded residences opening at Backus and Pillager this year.

Cost for the social worker's wages and benefits would run about $60,000 per year, but Medical Assistance payments clients would be eligible to receive would pay the county about $96,000 per year, Schaap said.

The commissioners referred Schaap's request to the budget committee to consider for 2011.

They also referred to the budget committee the five family centers' request to restore full county funding of $75,000 in 2011, plus $25,000 for mental health services through schools in the county.

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