'The first stab at accountability:' Northern Lakes leader gives statusto county commissioners

Apr. 5—TRAVERSE CITY — Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority's interim CEO credited a former law enforcement officer with cleaning up the organization's recipient rights department, while acknowledging the number of substantiated complaints exceed a goal set last year for the authority.

A former Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office sergeant, Brian Newcomb, was hired in 2021 to direct the department and has since brought the complaint investigation timeline into compliance, Brian Martinus said.

"That's one of the highlights, we have a really good, strong recipient rights department," Martinus said. "I'm really proud of the work they do and the professionalism that they have."

Michigan's mental health code requires those providing community mental health services to ensure the rights of people receiving those services are protected and complaints investigated.

In October, November and December, data Martinus provided Wednesday to Grand Traverse County commissioners showed recipient rights department staff substantiated 38 complaints filed against the organization's employees or contracted service providers.

The goal, set last year when representatives from the six counties Northern Lakes serves began negotiating a new enabling agreement, is five or fewer.

"You're going to have more than five," Martinus said, adding that data is publicly available on how many complaints are filed, whether they were substantiated and if they were internal or external to the organization.

Northern Lakes contracts with dozens of outside providers, such as staffing organizations and operators of adult foster care homes, and a number of the complaints were filed against these providers, records show.

Complaints also vary in severity and harm, with some accusing a provider of a dignity violation, which might mean falling asleep on the job, and others accusing someone of neglect or abuse.

Martinus on Wednesday gave an update to county commissioners, the first since the enabling agreement was signed last summer and new accountability goals for the troubled organization — called "key performance indicators" in the agreement — were agreed upon.

Some of those indicators, such as the fewer than five recipient rights complaints, may be unnecessarily arbitrary.

"It's been a year now," said Commissioner TJ Andrews, who asked substantive questions of Martinus at the board's meeting. "Should these be updated? Sounds like some of these might need some tailoring."

"I would say yes, but that's my opinion," Martinus said. "This was the first stab at accountability for the agency."

County Administrator Nate Alger recommended contacting Sarah Bannon, a Grand Ledge consultant who assisted with the enabling agreement, to get clarification on whether a change in key performance indicators might be needed.

"Admittedly, during that discussion period we didn't take what CMH was saying as gospel," Alger said. "Because we were like, 'Listen, the system is broken, we're trying to fix it, how do we do that, we rely on outside counsel.'"

"I think we all appreciate that hindsight is a lot different than foresight," Andrews said, advocating for taking the opportunity to make necessary modifications.

The indicators came about after years of turmoil at the organization precipitated a takeover by the Northern Michigan Regional Entity last fall as a kind of interim overseer and the NMRE, which controls Medicaid funding, is paying Martinus' salary.

Family members and friends of people diagnosed with or reporting symptoms of mental illness have attended board meetings to ask why their loved one isn't receiving or doesn't qualify for services.

Problems first surfaced in earnest in 2021, when some elected officials said they'd tried working with Northern Lakes' previous top executive Joanie Blamer, who is now on paid administrative leave, and were met with a "my-way-or-the-highway" attitude.

Northern Lakes board members last year began asking for more detailed financial reports at monthly meetings and, ultimately, in August agreed to pay Rehmann Group consultants $45,000 a month for an assessment.

The consultants last year confirmed multiple human resources failings and the accounting assessment morphed into a forensic investigation, paid for by the NMRE.

"The environment that they were working in was one of fear, retaliation and a lack of trust," Rehmann consultant Kerreen Conley previously told Northern Lakes' board, echoing what several employees told the Record-Eagle.

Blamer, who for a time served as interim CEO and had sought the permanent position, was later placed on paid administrative leave as was the organization's former chief financial officer, Lauri Fischer, though she no longer works for the organization.

In December, Blamer and Fischer filed "whistleblower" lawsuits in 13th Circuit Court against Northern Lakes and Martinus.

On Monday, a settlement conference was scheduled for July 31, and a notice of jury trial, if necessary, was scheduled for Aug. 27 in front of Judge Charles Hamlyn.

Blamer and Fischer, in court documents, state that while employed by Northern Lakes, they engaged in protected "whistleblowing" activities, such as reporting sex discrimination, reporting financial waste and misuse of public funds, deletion of data, union contract violations and failure to properly manage the organization.

The paid administrative leave for Blamer and Fischer, and the subsequent termination of Fischer, the lawsuit states, were retaliatory in nature and both plaintiffs are seeking financial damages and attorney fees.

Martinus at Wednesday's meeting credited Northern Lakes' longtime staff and new hires, whose focus, he said, is on community needs.

Other data shared by Martinus included crisis team response numbers, which skyrocketed from 178 in a previous quarter to 429 in October, November and December due to increased need.

"They actually trust us now, we're actually doing what we said we were going to do, we're partnering," Martinus said of Northern Lakes staff's improved relationship with law enforcement.

"It's developing relationships, mending relationships that might have been broken in the past. We're all trying to do the same thing and that's to serve people."

Martinus said he'll again compile quarterly numbers April 15, and the organization's board, and the county board, will be able to compare the two quarters to see how the organization is doing.

Commissioner Darryl Nelson took a moment to recognize Martinus' efforts.

"It's been a tough two or three years at Northern Lakes," Nelson said.

"You guys have had a lot on your plate," he added, "you've received a lot of tough love from this body, and I just want to recognize you and your team ... good things have happened and good things are people being served."