GCBH takes to road
Jan. 28—Residents in 10 communities can get mental health care when Green Country Behavioral Health Services Care-A-Van rolls into town.
"It is basically our main office on wheels," said GCBH Clinical Supervisor Carrie Radebaugh. "We work with integrated care, so it's not just mental health, it's mind, body and soul. Anything our main clinic can do, we can do on the bus."
For the past two months, GCBH has taken a converted RV, which it calls the bus, to communities in McIntosh and Muskogee counties, as well as underserved areas in Muskogee. The communities are Checotah, Eufaula, Fort Gibson, Hanna, Porum, Taft, Warner and Webbers Falls. A smaller van visits Haskell and Muskogee's Green Country Village on Mondays. That's about 300-400 miles a week, said behavioral case manager Mike Wilson.
Elle Recarte, a peer recovery support services worker, said clients feel more welcome. She said past mobile visits were usually at an outside booth.
"Now we just take the clients into the van," she said. "They're more comfortable talking."
It also is more private than the outside booth.
Case manager Scarlet Bronson said the bus has extensions on both sides, giving them ample space. It can be divided into three separate areas, including a counseling room and a medical clinic. Workers can take such vitals as blood pressure.
People can receive mental health screenings, crisis services, recovery, medication-assisted services for adults, and mental health services for children.
"What I like about it is that we're able to meet clients where they are at," Radebaugh said. "We have a good team on board that has all different types of experiences, and they bring a lot to the table on what they're able to do."
The bus usually visits two sites a day, helping break down transportation barriers.
"We have people who see our med clinic staff, so we have a nurse they can meet with," she said. "They can visit with our provider for medications."
The bus and van staff includes a supervisor, nurse, case managers and a therapist.
Clients also can come in for peer recovery support services, meeting with a counselor who has been in recovery themselves, Radebaugh said.
"They are that person who can walk side-by-side with somebody entering recovery," she said.
Clients are seen by appointment or with no appointment.
"Sometimes they can walk up and say 'we need help' and we'll start having a conversation with them there," she said. "Sometimes, they have already been scheduled."
The busiest locations have been Fort Gibson, Haskell and Warner, Care-A-Van workers said.
GCBH workers also make presentations to the communities. Radebaugh said the bus will be at Muskogee Public Library's Touch-a-Truck event this spring.
The bus also goes to major employers, such as Refresco.
