NEWS

Maria Sirois, Psy. D.

Please join us for a community conversation, “Cultivating Resilience, Wellbeing, and Hope…Even and Especially in the Hardest Moments”

"Life is harsh, crazy, capricious and unjust, and wondrous, surprising, bountiful, and beautiful. Both are true. How we navigate these realities is the challenge of living today. We cannot adhere only to despair else we dismiss all that is life-giving. Nor can we deny the awfulness of life; that would be delusional. We must find a way, within ourselves and with each other to acknowledge, recognize and diminish the dark wherever we can while elevating the good." - Maria Sirois

Coming in September 2024

Nantucket Intermediate School

30 Surfside Rd

Light lunch and fun engagement to make your own sundae

RSVP appreciated: Link email here

Press Release: January 26th, 2024: CSBH welcomes The Department of Mental Health to Nantucket

Nantucket - On January 25th Community Solutions for Behavioral Health (CSBH) coordinated an event at Nantucket Cottage Hospital with The Department of Mental Health (DMH) Southeast Area (SEA). As the State’s mental health authority, representatives from DMH’s Child, Youth, and Family Services (CYF) and Adult Divisions offered access, application, and program updates. They also discussed the Department’s responsibility for delivering supplemental services for those with the most serious behavioral health needs.

Twenty-five attendees from organizations including Fairwinds, A Safe Place,  ASAP, NAMI, Nantucket Public Schools, NCH, Our House, VNA of Cape Cod, Family Resource Center, and Youth Villages participated in this two-hour session and engaged with DMH staff. Likewise, DMH appreciated the opportunity to hear the community concerns and better understand its challenges. DMH staff were able to tour the emergency department and med-surg floor and connect with nursing leaders in person for the first time.

Alexis Romanow, Director of CYF, DMH SEA, tells us that, “In the past year, we have appreciated being part of several events in the community and learning about the strengths and resources on Nantucket. We appreciate Community Solutions for Behavioral Health in coordinating and promoting this event – it’s inspiring to see the collaboration in the community and how it can foster advocacy, health promotion and access to services.”

Rosemary McLaughlin, Executive Director of CSBH, reports she was eager to facilitate this event between a state agency and local organizations to ensure providers understand the services available for clients. “Principle to CSBH’s mission is connecting organizations for collaboration and promoting access to behavioral health systems. Access is the starting point for the specialized services provided by DMH, and we are happy to promote and encourage all service options available through collaborative discussions and community engagement. An on-island presence is needed and now we will have that.” Moving forward, DMH will be on island monthly for office hours to facilitate access to services and to build relationships with the community. 

Holly McGowan, CSBH Board Member, was in attendance and appreciated the opportunity to have the full attention of DMH to answer questions and support advocacy for services needed on island.

According to Debra Demuth, Director of Community Services DMH SEA, “DMH is excited for the opportunity to meet with this group of community leaders and stakeholders.  We know that mental health awareness is a top priority for Nantucket and appreciate the partnerships we have and hope that this presentation will allow for better understanding of DMH’s services and roles. In addition to providing specialized services in connection with our contracted on-island providers, Fairwinds and Vinfen, DMH has been able to support mental health service delivery through the Behavioral Health Help Line and support of the CBHC model of care. We want to ensure the community is aware of how to access DMH and are aware that we have staff members who have dedicated roles covering Cape and Islands.” 

Press Release: Nantucket, September 20, 2023
Community Solutions for Behavioral Health Announces Hiring of Executive Director

Nantucket Island, MA – Community Solutions for Behavioral Health (CSBH), a coalition of providers, community members, and key stakeholders dedicated to improving behavioral health for the residents on Nantucket, is excited to announce the hiring of Rosemary McLaughlin as its first Executive Director. McLaughlin comes with over 20 years of providing successful quality care delivery, most recently at Integritus Healthcare (formerly Berkshire Healthcare Systems), which is the largest long-term care nonprofit service provider in Massachusetts. In her most recent position, McLaughlin served as Regional Director of Operations of 5 skilled nursing facilities and hospice providers.  A lifelong Massachusetts resident, Rosemary obtained her MBA from Babson College.

CSBH, an independent nonprofit, is the result of the Nantucket Behavioral Health Initiative that began in 2021. It is governed by a board of directors that includes leaders from Fairwinds Counseling Center, Nantucket Cottage Hospital, the Community Foundation for Nantucket, Nantucket Public Schools, the Town of Nantucket, and NAMI of Cape Cod and the Islands, as well as an independent therapist and a community representative.

Margaretta Andrews, former Executive Director of the Community Foundation for Nantucket commented, “The Nantucket Behavioral Health Initiative has worked tirelessly over the past 3 years to determine the best way to help coordinate and enhance the behavioral health system on the Island.  The creation of Community Solutions for Behavioral Health was a major step forward on this journey, and we welcome Rosemary McLaughlin as our first Executive Director.  Rosemary brings years of experience as a healthcare leader for vulnerable populations, as well as nonprofit and for-profit management, and we are thrilled to have her on board.”

On her acceptance of this new position, Rosemary McLaughlin stated, “I was impressed that the Nantucket Community had identified the need to collaboratively address behavioral health and wellness. Behavioral Health is a crisis everywhere, but not every community is as committed to improving the quality, access, and outcomes for those in need and those who care about them. When individuals struggle, we all experience the consequences.” She went on to say, “I look forward to working with all stakeholders who have invested in improving the full spectrum of services offered for prevention, intervention, recovery, and treatment of behavioral health. A healthy community must include getting and staying well both physically and mentally. Leading Community Solutions for Behavioral Health is an opportunity and a privilege. I look forward to making a difference.”

Press Release: Nantucket, May 15, 2023
New Behavioral Health Non-Profit Launched

The Nantucket Behavioral Health Initiative announced today that it is forming a new organization to continue to improve the behavioral health system and create a healthy community on Nantucket. The new non-profit, named Community Solutions for Behavioral Health, has filed to be an independent non-profit, 501c3 organization, and has begun a search for an executive director.

Since 2021, the Nantucket Behavioral Health Initiative has operated as a collaboration of public and private stakeholders focused on behavioral health wellness and transforming the system of care on the island. The collaborative began by commissioning an assessment of the island’s behavioral health needs. The resulting report which can be found HERE, identified 15 gaps in the island’s continuum of behavioral healthcare including 5 “system enablers” which when addressed will allow the system to function better as a whole.

Since that time the collaborative has worked to address gaps identified in the assessment including those around recruiting and retaining the island-wide behavioral health workforce, and around the response to those in a mental health crisis. In January of 2023, Fairwinds and Nantucket Cottage Hospital launched a new integrated approach to those in behavioral health crisis that provides for better care coordination in a timely manner to all who need it. The new crisis model was enabled in a large part by Fairwinds seeking and receiving designation

Jason Bridges, Executive Director of Fairwinds, said, “we have learned a lot over the past two years about what can be accomplished when we work collaboratively. Taking this next step will ensure that we have a sustainable system for addressing issues that are bigger than any individual organization can solve.”

The new organization will be governed by a board of directors that initially includes leaders from Fairwinds, Nantucket Cottage Hospital, The Community Foundation for Nantucket, Nantucket Public Schools, The Town of Nantucket, and NAMI of Cape Cod and the Islands, as well as an independent therapist and a community representative. In addition to start-up funding provided by the Community Foundation for Nantucket and Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Community Solutions for Behavioral Health has received a three-year grant from the Peter and Elizabeth Tower Foundation to fund operations.

“The town has been an advocate for some time for greater collaboration to address the community’s biggest health and human services challenges,” said C. Elizabeth Gibson, Nantucket Town Manager, “the level of engagement on this initiative has been impressive and we are looking forward to the next phase of this public/private partnership.”

Press Release: Nantucket, January 3, 2023
Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Fairwinds to Launch Integrated System of Mental Health Crisis Response

On Tuesday, January 3, Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Fairwinds will launch a new integrated system of community-wide mental health crisis response. The collaboration, which has been in development for months, grew out of the work of the Nantucket Community Behavioral Health Initiative which identified the fragmented system of mental health crisis response to be one of the key gaps in its 2021 assessment of behavioral health systems on the island.

As of 12AM on January 3, the new island-wide mental health crisis number is 508-221-3315. Fairwinds, which has been designated the Community Behavioral Health Center and Crisis Responder for Nantucket by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, will respond to crisis calls 24/7 365 days a year. In addition to addressing crisis calls in the community and in the schools, Fairwinds clinicians will provide crisis evaluations in the hospital emergency department and provide consultation for treatment of patients waiting for discharge to on-island outpatient services or transfer to an off-island in-patient facility.

“When the state came up with its new approach to community crisis response we were well positioned because we were already at the table working collaboratively to make it better,” said Amy Lee, President of Nantucket Cottage Hospital. “When Fairwinds applied for and was selected to be the CBHC (Community Behavioral Health Center) for Nantucket – which was a big step and a huge commitment – it just made sense for the community for it to be one integrated system that we all commit to support.”

While the state’s guidelines and contracts only apply to Mass Health patients, the new system on Nantucket will be “payer blind” giving every person access to the same system regardless of insurance status. Patients who need in-patient care will get placement in an off-island facility through Mass General Brigham’s central access program which provides a single team to manage all behavioral health inpatient placement throughout the MGB system and beyond.

Jason Bridges, Executive Director of Fairwinds, added “This collaboration between Fairwinds and the Nantucket Cottage Hospital will provide better care for those in crisis while significantly improving the overall behavioral health care for our island. Driving towards one integrated system with first responders, the schools, human services organizations, and the broader community will put people first and improve our overall level of care and well-being,”