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July 27, 2018 - 12:38pm | By Leah Backstrom
The North Dakota Department of Human Services is hosting an open house on Tuesday, Aug. 14 at South Central Human Service Center’s (SCHSC) new satellite office in Valley City. The public is invited to come and meet members of the behavioral health team from 3 to 7 p.m. at the office located in the City-County Public Health District building at 415 Second Ave. N.E.
Since opening on June 4, 2018, staff members have provided about 50 medical appointments, and group and individual therapy and case management services to area residents. Referrals from partner organizations in the region, including health care providers, the courts, the faith-based community and other entities have been growing.
On June 15, staff members began offering assessments to area residents, which is an important first step in accessing needed behavioral health services. Individuals are connected to services quickly if they are in crisis or determined to have urgent behavioral health needs.
“Our goal is to serve people when they need help, so we are striving to be as flexible as we can be,” said Dan Cramer, director of South Central Human Service Center.
Currently, a therapist is on-site at least three days a week, he said, and a licensed addiction counselor is on-site one day a week. A second therapist also comes to the satellite office to serve area residents.
Psychiatric services are available one day a week and are provided by either a staff psychiatrist in person or by telemedicine through the department’s collaboration with the psychiatry residency program at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
