New MMC Program Geared To Bringing Hope to Seniors

By: Kayla Meyer, The Port Lavaca Wave

A new program at Memorial Medical Center is bringing hope to seniors in Calhoun County.

Open to those ages 55 and older, Program Hope is MMC's new outpatient behavioral health program specializing in group therapy. Dr. Jacey Coy, the director of the program, said the therapy groups help address the needs of seniors.

"Our groups specifically are process groups. They focus on things like depression, anxiety, grief and loss. A huge one is loss of independence," Coy said. "We have three groups per day. We run groups everyday and three different groups that are a little less than an hour long in length, or about an hour, so we run three groups, give them a little break in between each group and continue on."

Groups are usually kept small, with 10 people or less. Coy said this helps the therapist who leads the group to facilitate discussion where everyone can be involved.

"It's not a huge group. It's definitely a small group. In order for there to be a lot of processing going on in terms of like emotions and feelings and what's happening for people in the moment there has to kind of be a small group atmosphere," Coy said.

Coy added that he would facilitate part of the groups. Topics of the group will vary depending on the session, Coy said.

"It just depends on the topic of the day, the topic of the group. Since we do three different groups, we're going to be talking about three different things and that's predetermined by the therapist knowing who's coming in and knowing what each patient is dealing with ahead of time and really formulating some sort of topic that really resonates with all of them," Coy said.

"It can be about anything that really the therapist feels there's a need to talk about. It's really free flowing. It's not like a lecture or a lesson," he added. "There might be some educational points in there that the therapist does, but typically it's really just allowing the patients to really lead the group and kind of figure out how they want to discuss the topic and how they want to dissect it and process it with each other."

Patients typically attend Program Hope three days per week in the beginning, Coy said. He added that patients would go to fewer sessions as they learn skills through the group sessions.

"We come up with a treatment plan," Coy said. "Not everybody comes in with the same issues so everybody's goals are a little bit different, but we have long-term goals and we have short-term goals that we're working toward. The therapist knows that ahead of time. The main end goal, typically patients stay here about six months to a year, some shorter some longer it just depends but we would like to see them discharged.

"The end goal would be where you get to the point where you don't need our services anymore, where you've learned enough coping skills to manage your symptoms and you don't need us anymore," he added. "That is ultimately the end goal."

In addition to the therapy sessions, lunch is provided, as well as transportation if needed. Cost for the program is covered by Medicare if applicable, and possibly by private insurance, Coy said.

"If they have traditional Medicare, it's completely covered under Medicare. If they have private insurance we can try to see what we can do about it. It can get expensive for some people it can be kind of costly. The best route is if they do have traditional Medicare," Coy said.

Although Program Hope is new to Calhoun County, it is not the first of its kind. Sister programs are also held throughout south Texas. Coy said there was a need in Calhoun County for a mental healthcare program.

"There's sister programs running in Edna, one in Refugio, one in Cuero, so there are some similar programs, but they're a pretty far distance. Even right now, some of our patients come all the way from Palacios and it was just really hard for them to go all the way to Edna. It's a little bit further for them, so there was definitely a need for not only Port Lavaca, but also the surrounding areas," Coy said.

"When you even just look around the area, there's not a lot out there in terms of mental health services, especially for senior adults. There's really nothing out there that specializes in treating mental health issues," he added. "So, that's kind of the need that we saw that there was a huge area that just hasn't really been tapped into, a huge area of people that really want and need our services."

More information about the program can be found online at www.mmcportlavaca.com or by calling 552-0798. Coy said potential patients would go through a referral process and would receive an assessment.

"The referral process is really easy. With their permission, we will go out to where they're at. If they're at a nursing home , we'll go to the nursing home and talk to them," Coy said. If they're at assisted living or at their own home we will go over there and speak with them, tell them about the program. We'll also do a mini assessment just to gather some basic information to make sure they qualify for the group. If they pass through all that and it sounds like a good setup then we will schedule them to see our psychiatrist. He is the one that admits our patients."

By participating in Program Hope, Coy said patients are able to be part of a community and often make friends through the groups.

"As they start hearing the stories of other people, they start to become more comforted and to feel like, 'I'm not the only one who deals with that,' or they start to open up too and it's amazing. You will see the changes in these people within the first few sessions that they've been in because the need friends. They need each other. They want to and hang out with them outside of the group. It really builds a sense of community," Coy said. "So, it's really amazing to see even the quick changes that occur from being out in the community and doing something."