1. health and fitness
2. addiction

A Newsletter For NET Staff, Clients, and Friends
CUA Press
Conference
On July 18, 2012, Terence
McSherry, NET President and
CEO, publically accepted the
Community Umbrella Agency
contract at a Press Conference
at which Mayor Michael Nutter
was in attendance. McSherry’s
remarks demonstrated NET’s
commitment and mission to
community service.
McSherry stressed that much
of NET’s success is due to its
highly respected, longtime
Peer Specialist program, where
individuals who themselves are
in recovery aid those new to
treatment. More recently, this
idea of peer-to-peer support
has been extended to the Youth
Services programs.
“Making sure that we hear
and understand the voice of
the people we seek to serve was
so important to us that we
extended that idea into the area
of family services,” McSherry
explained. “So, we also hired
parent support specialists. These
are parents who at one time
needed a little extra support
raising their children.”
With this initiative, NET is
proud to extend its touch to
more communities and families,
reaching further to those most
in need.
Fall 2012
You’ve heard the news bustling around the hallways...
NET Gets CUA
In August 2006, a tragedy occurred in
Philadelphia. Danieal Kelly, age 11 and
under the care of the Department of
Human Services (DHS), died neglected
and worse. In July 2012, through an
initiative called Improving Outcomes
for Children and catalyzed by Danieal’s
tragedy, the Philadelphia DHS tapped
NET to be the first agency to implement
its new form of Case Management. This
contract will establish NET as the first
Community Umbrella Agency (CUA).
It is no small thing for NET to be the first
agency in the entire city to be given this
contract. Community Umbrella Agencies
are the definitive new DHS initiative.
The idea of a Community Umbrella
Agency is novel for Philadelphia. In
years past, youth in need of child welfare
services would have both a DHS worker
and a caseworker assigned from an outside
agency. As was demonstrated in the case
of Danieal Kelly, this approach could lead
to neglect. As DHS Commissioner Anne
Marie Ambrose put it in an interview
with WHYY’s Marty Moss-Coane,
“When everyone is responsible, no one
is responsible.” In other words, the
practice of having two caseworkers, each
thinking the other is responsible for the
child, has led to preventable tragedies.
No more. Since cultural competency and
community cohesiveness is a central
theme in Improving Outcomes for
Children, each CUA will operate within
a certain community. Within each
community and each family, that agency
Cultural competency and community
cohesiveness is a central theme in
Improving Outcomes for Children
will provide a comprehensive set of
services for that youth and his or her
family. The communities are organized
by police districts ; NET will be given the
25th Police District, serving Hunting Park,
Fairhill, and Juniata Park/ Feltonville.
In her interview with Marty Moss-Coane,
Ms. Ambrose went on to further praise the
agency. “NET has a tremendous continuum
of services that include behavioral health
supports and drug and alcohol supports,
which are so essential for the families that
we serve. A lot of times families are afraid
and don’t want to go to DHS for the help.
We want to encourage families to use
them [NET] as the resource that they are
intended to be.”
According to the Philadelphia DHS,
Improving Outcomes for Children is
based on the premise that “positive
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Continuing the Legacy:
Interns and Fellows at NET
As might be expected from an agency so committed to helping individuals
better themselves, there is no shortage of unsung heroes at NET. Among
these are our outstanding group of interns and fellows.
Drawing from nearly every major university in the Philadelphia
area and the state of Delaware, NET’s Internship Program has
fostered hundreds of mutually beneficial relationships between
interns and the organization during the past 10 years.
“The program provides diverse opportunities for people of
various backgrounds, from Social Work to master’s level
Psychology,” explained Gene Derrick, who has long been
instrumental in the internship program. “Our interns are able
to develop their skills by working with staff members who also
have diverse backgrounds. Our philosophy is to provide strong
supervision to each of our interns. That is why so many of
them later become employees.”
Mike Bernstein began his NET internship in August 2011.
He started by shadowing groups with different counselors.
Eventually he began to notice the nuances that are not so obvious
to the novice; learning about group dynamics and appropriate
counselor client behavior is something that can only be gleaned
from experience. He moved on to doing multiple one-on-one
sessions and group sessions under Dr. Allan Lehrman. In
September 2012, Mike became a Counselor.
“I don’t know where I would be professionally were it not for the
support and help of people like Gene Derrick, Allan Lehrman,
Lauren Carone, and Sabrina Messina,” Bernstein said. “They
allowed me to develop personally and professionally, and I’m
extremely grateful for that.”
Bernstein’s story, while different in specifics, is similar in spirit to
others’ at NET. Many of NET’s Lead Clinicians began as interns.
Family Focused Program Director Dr. Letitia Kouvatas remarked,
“We consider ourselves to be a training agency.” This summer, NET
partnered with the Psychiatry Department at Thomas Jefferson
University Hospital. This relationship enabled doctors in the
process of their fellowships to contract with NET to get the
training necessary for their field. “Excited, energetic, and eager
to learn” was how Dr. Kouvatas described these fellows. She began
her own career as a pre-doctoral fellow.
While NET’s interns express gratitude for the opportunity afforded
to them, NET is grateful in return. The future of the agency is
brighter in great part because of the talent and commitment of
its interns and fellows.
BIP: Incentivizing Accountability
PA Adult Behavioral Services has long stressed the need for
whole lifestyle changes on the way to recovery. Vice President
Joseph Schultz knows that for people in recovery to truly
realize their place in society, they must recognize that they
are both being helped and are called to help others. One of
the ways NET fosters personal accountability is through,
conversely, group accountability. When people become
accountable not only for themselves but also to one another,
a sense of community and responsibility is engendered.
In February, PA Adult Behavioral Services began its Behavioral
Incentive Program to this end. It works like this: each week,
any group that has a 65 percent or greater attendance record
wins $50 to spend on a party. Each month, the group with
the best attendance record per site will receive a $200 stipend
that can be used for various purposes. Many have put their
winnings towards charitable funds. One group donated
$200 worth of food to a church’s food bank within the
Family Focused community. Another gave their $200 to
St. Christopher’s
Foundation for Children
while the Latino group
has generously donated their
winnings to a school supply drive.
Through this program, clients become reliant on one another
to attend sessions. If a peer misses a session, others within the
group will engage their absent peer, calling him or her on the
phone, pursuing and encouraging them in various ways to
participate.
In effect, both the group accountability and then putting the
winnings to a charitable cause doubly emphasize this idea of
reciprocity. As a perennial pioneer of new ideas designed to
empower clients into helping themselves, NET’s new initiative
in BIP exemplifies Adult Behavioral Health’s creativity and
care. Such ingenuity in the service of others is truly something
to be appreciated.
Smoking Cessation:
A NET Initiative Meets Personal Goals
A common thread runs
through many of the stories
at NET: Some obstacles
are best overcome through
personal accountability,
fortitude, and the support
of friends. Along these lines,
NET has adopted a new
smoking cessation program
whose goal is obvious but whose methods are less so. Each week for
six weeks, the members of the program meet and tease out all the
obstacles in the way of smoking cessation, all the excuses preventing them from stopping, and all the reasons that they should quit
immediately. In this self-imposed intervention of sorts, group
members are forced to confront their habits and make a decision.
NET’s newest initiative in smoking cessation is provided by Meryl
Wexler of Wellness Resolutions. Drawing on her many years of
experience in this field, Wexler is able to impart wise insights for
confronting the addiction. Her first step is to identify whether
or not someone is actually okay with smoking. The vast majority
of people who smoke, Wexler contends, do not like the fact that
they are smokers. From this starting point, she can find out
why – if you don’t like this thing about yourself – you still do it.
Wexler described three ways in which someone can be addicted
to cigarettes: physiologically, behaviorally, and psychologically.
The smoking cessation program provides tools to combat one
or all three of these addictions.
“It’s not magic. We need to understand that we’re human beings.
We need to get in touch with who we are as people and what
makes us tick in order to make any change in our lives, whether
it’s stopping smoking, changing jobs, getting married or having
a baby.” After identifying the obstacles that prevent the individual
from quitting, Wexler gives him or her the tools needed to fight
the specific addictive tendencies.
One individual who made the leap into a
smoke-free lifestyle is Korinne Yannone.
She had wanted to quit for some time,
but the group setting made it possible
for her to see it through. “Other people
going through it with me helped provide
the support I needed,” she said. She
alluded to the fact that she didn’t want
to have to go back to her group and
admit defeat. She found this to be a
powerful motivator.
Our recent graduates,
Gayle Reese (L) and
Korrine Yannone (R)
Gayle Reese is another success story.
She too had wanted to stop smoking
for some time; the program was the thrust that finally confronted
her with doing it. “It put me in a place where I know I’m in control
of myself,” Reese explained. “I’ve previously tried to quit but there
was no support there.” Smoking cessation required her to change
her lifestyle, but that change was unequivocally for the better, she
said. Food tasted better, her house was cleaner, and her friends and
family were all proud of her.
In all, five NET employees have permanently changed their lives
for the better as a result of the program. Wexler had a rather
astounding revelation about this graduating class. “In all the years
I’ve taught, I don’t think I remember 100 percent of the people
quitting. That was absolutely amazing.”
If you are interested in getting more information or in signing
up for the smoking cessation program, contact HR Team Leader
Meredith Moore.
Congratulations!
Gene Derrick - 25 years of service
Gene Derrick, Director of Research and T
rain­ing, recently marked his 25th anniversary
at NET. Terence McSherry, President and CEO,
summarized Gene’s role as a sort of “safety
valve in this organization.” Gene has worn
many hats at NET. “He eventually ran Adult
Services in Philadelphia, and he ran Delaware services for a little
while,” McSherry explained. “For the last 12 years, he has been
in training and research development. All of our Interns and
Physician’s Assistant come through him.” Gene has touched the
lives of many people; his tenderness has been a hallmark at NET
for many years.
Reginald Andrews - 20 years of service
“The salt of the earth.” That was the phrase
Vice President Regan Kelly had for Reggie,
a NET Case Aide. Year after year and with
a perennial smile, he was willing to help
anyone who required it. “He has probably
seen thousands, thousands of kids… he
will do day and night, anytime, any place that they need,” said
Terence McSherry. This type of devotion is rare to see, and any
commendation would be trivial by comparison. Nevertheless,
congratulations and thank you, Mr. Reggie, for all you have
done for this agency and for the kids.
NET Steps’ Mural Collaboration
Depicts a Vision of Recovery
On June 13, internationally renowned mosaic mural
artist Isaiah Zagar came to Bridesburg to admire NET
Steps’ own mosaic mural, which his work had inspired.
“Visions of Recovery,” a 4 x 8 foot mural composed of
recycled glass bottles, beads, mirrors and tiles, was
designed and created by members of Sucheta Vyas’
Alternative Therapy Group at NET Steps, NorthEast
Treatment Centers’ Medication-Assisted Recovery program.
The artwork is permanently mounted on the exterior
entryway to the building at 2205 Bridge Street.
Alternative Therapy uses arts and crafts as a means to
explore and express emotions. A mosaic mural, which
Zagar describes as a “mirror of the mind,” was a perfect
medium for that expression. The idea was initiated by
Annette Carroll, who brought Zagar’s work to the
attention of Vyas. Group members together chose the
theme, collected the materials, and learned to use a tile
cutter that was set up in the Serenity Garden, which they
had created for an earlier group project. They selected
images of dolphins, ocean, birds, trees and sky to represent
hope, faith and freedom.
“The pieces of glass in the trees could represent the rough,
dangerous life of addiction, while the bird flying away from
the tree into the sky, whose heart is depicted as a Narcotics
Anonymous medallion, could symbolize that recovery must
come first. The word ‘NET’ as a centerpiece indicates that
Philadelphia mosaic mural artist Isaiah Zagar with the
NET Steps mural that was inspired by his work.
freedom from addiction was made possible because of this
place,” wrote Jose H. DeLeon in NET Steps’ newsletter.
“The project taught us that we are not limited in thinking.
Anything is possible with God’s will,” said NET Steps’
Director John Carroll, addressing the crowd gathered
for the mural unveiling. He presented a plaque to
Vyas, honoring “her lifelong devotion to the healing
of others.” At the end of June, Vyas retired from NET Steps
and a lifelong career in addiction recovery. Although
the patients and staff who participated in the project
were thrilled with the outcome, they found even more
satisfaction in the process. “Participating in this project
inspired me to look at myself and my life and the freedom
there is in being sober,” said Ed H. “During the mural
project, I did 90 meetings in 90 days and remained
abstinent from all drugs during this time,” said John M.
Both men are patients in the Alternative Therapy Program.
Also on hand at the event were Roland Lamb, Director, and
Marvin Levine, Deputy Director, of the Office of Addiction
Services; and Terence McSherry, NET President and CEO.
“The mural is even more beautiful than it looked in
pictures,” McSherry said. “We really appreciate the 2000
hours of service and loyalty and heart that went into
this project.”
From left: Terence McSherry, CEO and President of NorthEast
Treatment Centers; Sucheta Vyas, NET Steps Therapist; and
John Carroll, Vice President of NET Steps, in front of the
“Visions of Recovery” mural that was created by Vyas’
Alternative Therapy Group.
News &Notes
DE ADULT
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
NET Kirkwood Detoxification Center
(KDC) has weathered many storms
during the past several months
including restructuring of the management team; development,
revision, implementation, and monitoring of policies and
procedures; recruiting, hiring, and training of staff; and extensive
refinement of our comprehensive integrated custom Electronic
Health Record system.
Despite the adversities, NET KDC continues to provide quality
services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, averaging 10 admissions
and discharges per day, and maintaining an average daily census
of 50 consumers per day.
NET KDC’s continued success to provide detoxification and
co-occurring treatment services to adults for the entire State
of Delaware is solely the result of dedicated staff that truly
understand our mission and philosophy of empathy and
compassion for those we serve.
NET Steps and CAPE
“NET Steps has a fundamental goal of breaking the intergenerational chain of addiction between parents and their children.
Unfortunately it is common to have opiate-addicted parents
inadvertently pass their addictions on to their children,”
explained Annette Carroll of NET Steps.
To address this issue and to help teach parents in its program
how to be more effective, NET Steps turned to CAPE (Child
Abuse Prevention Effort). Over a 15-week period, CAPE’s
Lois Linden shared an abundance of positive, eye-opening,
effective information with 12 women in Therapist Kenya
Foster’s parenting track.
“There are great challenges that everyone in recovery faces
on a daily basis, and these are even greater if that person is
a parent,” said Foster. The majority of women who completed
Linden’s program continue to progress in their recovery and
improve in their parenting skills. Because
of its obvious success,
John and Annette
Parents who participated
in CAPEs Positive
Parenting 15-week
workshop gather to
celebrate their graduation.
DIVISION UPDATES
Carroll are currently working on an effective way to implement
this Parenting Program for both their IOP
and OP clients/parents.
PA ADULT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
It is no secret that NET and its clients were affected by this year’s
budget cuts. It may be foolhardy to always look for a silver lining,
but in this case something special occurred that, when looked at
carefully, demonstrates the power of NET’s mission. While the
budget cuts were being debated in Harrisburg, NET’s clients
rallied together and drove up to the capital to protest. This is
a powerful image. These individuals have all suffered greatly
in their lives, yet they were able to come together to fight for
something that they know helped alter their lives for the better.
Their efforts should be commended.
Quality Corner
Quality is the hallmark of outstanding performance. NET’s
automated Performance Reporting System (PRS) is the
primary vehicle for measuring quality and monitoring
organizational performance for licensure and accreditation
compliance. NET’s PRS has universal data collection
indicators applicable to all administrative, clinical,
program, and business processes conducted by NET.
Currently, the PRS is undergoing a few revisions to comply
with the recommendations from our most recent Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)
survey. These revisions include additions of the following:
• Literacy assessment to be conducted within 72 hours
of intake
• Monthly review of the person-centered plan
• Indicator to monitor encouragement of families of
consumers to participate in educational opportunities
• Customer Satisfaction Survey to include transition
to home, school, or community for Child and Youth
Services programs
Quality service provision is a priority at NET and is the
foundation for our continued success for the past 41 years.
It is because of our commitment to quality that we
emphasize its importance to our entire workforce,
i.e. each and every employee. Therefore, it is imperative
that everyone understands that their respective role is
simply to do the best job they possibly can do every day
and remember that you put the “U” in “quality!”
A Newsletter For NET Staff, Clients, and Friends
Credible and iCentrix
Implementation
Since its inception, NET has endeavored to be a standardsetting organization. The latest venture in electronic
clinical charting exemplifies this goal. NET has begun to
adopt Internet-based clinical record and billing systems:
Credible Behavioral Health and iCentrix. Through these
programs, NET intends to leap forward in providing the
most comprehensive system of tracking the records and
progress of our various clients.
Both of these systems allow healthcare workers to run
reports of the progress of clients, even those who have used
services from multiple programs at NET. This ability to
track clients across many different metrics will make it
possible to analyze trends for individuals and programs.
Since providing the best possible services to our clients is
the goal, this will help NET analyze what works best for
each individual. An additional advantage of using an
electronic system will be to allow our employees to access
and employ the records of clients while out in the field.
In the age of digitalization, having this ability is key to
providing the best possible access to care for our clients.
This switch from paper to electronic charts has not been
easy; this process has finally come to fruition after over
five years of work. The rollout of electronic record keeping
started with Delaware Detox and iCentrix. From there,
different units in both PA Adult Behavioral Health and
Youth and Family Services systematically got to work
NET Gets CUA
making the switch. Needless to say, the collective hours put
in for each unit have been prodigious.
A tremendous level of team effort was required to implement these systems. “It has really been a team effort,” said
Melissa Harvey, Director of Operations for Youth Services.
She specifically highlighted the efforts of Tony Debrowolski
and Carrie Sagedahl as Youth Services’ technical liaisons,
without whom this process would have gone nowhere.
With Credible and iCentrix “going live,” the process of
switching completely to an electronic records and billing
system will require continued patience and diligence
from NET employees. But with the way the staff has been
working together, there’s much to be confident about.
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outcomes are achieved through child welfare services that are family-centered,
community-based, culturally competent, integrated, timely, and accountable for
results.” NET’s successful proposal incorporated these elements.
Working together with faith-based groups, other grassroots agencies, and
existing community leaders, NET will help do its part to ensure better, more
comprehensive, and more dependable child welfare services for the community.
Congratulations to everyone who was and continues to be involved.
NorthEast Treatment Centers
215.451.7000 • www.net-centers.org