Submitted by tomrue on
This a public thank you to co-workers at the State of New York and County of Sullivan I have worked with over the years, many of whom for whom I have the greatest respect. Having spent 13 ½ years at Richard C. Ward Addiction Treatment Center in Middletown – plus more than half that with the Sullivan County Department of Community Services as a Staff Social Worker, in mental health day-treatment and at the outpatient addiction clinic with adult men and women; six years as a child and family therapist for a private agency under a public contract with Sullivan County Division of Health and Family Services children’s Preventive Services; and previously as a Sullivan County Probation Officer; a houseparent in publicly-operated adolescent group home; and clinical coordinator for a not-for-profit after-school program for teens, since 1985 I have done counseling work with adults and adolescents who suffer from mental illness and addiction, and runaway and ungovernable and delinquent youth, as well as family and couples therapy, with goals of family preservation, reunification, and adoption.
I am grateful for what I’ve learned and therefore take with me from all those experiences to prepare for a new stage of life.
From early 2000 until 2007, I coordinated admissions and outreach at RCWATC, working for much of that time most closely with Sharon Bordeau, who is still missed by many who knew her. The outreach work in those years, including what the State called "marketing" to community agencies and referral sources (agency presentations, provider meetings, health fairs, etc.), which really amounts to networking and public relations; as well as screening potential patients in jails, psych hospitals, and court rooms, actively looking for potential admissions, were especially rewarding and interesting.
These and other activities helped prepare me for the creativity required by the initiative that began in in a second-story office on Saint John Street in Monticello in August 2010, which over a year ago reached the point that it kept us in the office of Choices Mental Health Counseling until 10:00 PM nearly every weeknight, plus all day on Mondays, even as I have continued to work full-time for OASAS. In February, we relocated the practice to central Broadway it is a pleasure to offer a private and comfortable professional space for outpatient mental health and substance abuse counseling. Office hours from this point forward will remain regular, with plenty of day-time appointment openings.
So in reality, my “retirement” is more of a transition from the public sector to full-time self-employment, but I also hope it will bring a step-down in work intensity as I leave behind my work for the State. My wife Carmen Rue has been a big part of establishing and maintaining the office we have set up at 433 Broadway, Monticello (Sullivan County). She is at my side as office manager, signing patients in for group and assisting with the office’s organization and upkeep. This professional shift comes at a time when the Affordable Care Act is expanding accessibility of treatment to large numbers of newly insured people; bringing a concern that the unique niche the ATCs have had in the past, of providing high quality care to the uninsured, now competes with private facilities offering the same level of care, at the same time that increased accessibility to outpatient treatment is more of a priority than ever.
Over the years with OASAS I provided treatment to men as well as women; served as the ATC’s education and training coordinator and as management’s designee for cultural competence and HIPAA compliance for 10 years; as one of two Avatar administrators chose by the facility to be trained in Albany to help roll out and orient staff in use of the EHR still in use; and as one of two key users for the facility’s computer network; spent some years as a case manager, as well as conducting comprehensive assessment interviews and ATC program coverage, including RCWATC’s unique “Meet the Gorilla” guided imagery/psychodrama at three-week intervals. Each of these diverse tasks has been a unique learning experience in itself and allowed me to interact with staff and an estimated 10,000 or more ATC patients in many different ways. Many of my colleagues here, including some who have passed on, some who have retired or resigned, and some who are still here, have left a lasting impression on me, for which I will remain grateful.
An item that ran recently in the Sullivan County Democrat describing extracurricular activities in Monticello, which are now expanding to full-time, tells the story. This news article is shared for the information of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances describing where I am headed, not as a commercial promotion, with gratitude for experiences at OASAS. It is not impossible that I could re-enter the public sector to some degree at some point, but my plan is to remain in the private sector as a licensed mental health counselor, working with a variety of health insurance and EAP networks, for years to come.
There are many at OASAS with whom I will miss the pleasure of regular contact. Anyone who wishes to stay in touch is invited to do so at Choices Mental Health Counseling PLLC, via e-mail at tom@choicesmhc.com or by Facebook.
Contacts are asked to kindly delete my State e-mail from your contact list, as it will be deactivated before the end of this month. Please include the attached info on your distribution lists for announcements and other communications, and look forward to a more occasional but continued professional relationship with former day-to-day co-workers.
Pictured above: Staff at RC Ward ATC in Middletown dressed in purple on October 16, 2013 in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month; retirement cake served at the same occasion; and a recent photo of the ATC staff. [Photos by ATC medical director Umakantha Sannesy, MD.]