Treating the Whole Person Brings Major Progress

Although Luz DeGisi joined Tri-County Mental Health Services last year in the newly created position of nurse liaison, a key to her work is reducing mental health and other care through proactive patient prevention and education, while collaborating with other professionals to identify lapses in care.

“The idea of a nurse liaison focuses on helping people to take better care of themselves and head off problems that hurt them and can become costly to the health care system,” DeGisi explained. “It’s proactive and preventative.”

The effort actually evolved from findings that showed consumers with mental health issues on the average die 25 to 30 years younger. While mental illness is obviously no barrier to chronic illness, it can also bring lifestyle issues that make treatment difficult, sporadic or just plain ineffective.

DeGisi’s role is to step in and help see that doesn’t happen. “She’s dedicated to make Tri-County the health home of our consumers and patients, as a way to help assure that our consumers are paying as much attention to their physical health as mental disorders,” Tri-County CEO Tom Cranshaw explained. “It a critical gap that helps keep our clients healthier, and also offers a chance to reduce serious illness in the future, which helps them and the medical system as a whole.”

The effort is actually part of a multi-pronged program supported by the Missouri Department of Mental Health in conjunction with the Mental Health Coalition, a group composed of community mental health organizations like Tri-County. One of the program’s priorities involves identification of patients who are at risk for medical disorders. Another area monitors patients who have been inconsistent in taking medication. Still another helps psychiatrists use best practices for pharmacy management.

One of the most exciting components uses CyberAccess to communicate Medicaid claim data on medications and diagnosis—the kind of modern telecommunications effort that is being used in cutting edge private programs and which has been advocated as a key element in fixing the nation’s health care. In collaboration with Missouri HealthNet, any client with Medicaid is able to assign an agency their “health home” to coordinate their medical care, a huge step in avoiding duplication or problematic gaps in care that lead to more expensive problems. To date, more than 200 consumers have now designated Tri-County to be their health home

Tri-County’s case managers who work with DeGisi have found the help significant. One, Angel Burns, noted a mental health client who had also faced diabetes for 25 years. “He was overwhelmed with the diagnosis and was really struggling with the medication,” Burns recalled. “He had never had any real education tied to his medication and diagnosis. He worked with Luz (DeGisi) and we also tied him to a dietician. It’s been very helpful for him. It’s truly empowered him to better manage his disease. He’s learned how to eat better and just take better care of himself.”

DeGisi sees that step in personal responsibility as the ultimate benefit. “That triggers a dialog within themselves that moves them forward,” she explained. “They get the help where you need it, but ultimately it makes a change that lasts.”

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Tri-County Mental Health Services, 3100 NE 83rd St., Suite 1001, Kansas City, MO 64119-9998
Telephone: (816) 468-0400 Fax: (816) 468-6635 • 24-Hour Emergency Service Crisis Line 1-888-279-8188
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