Our mission
Central Montgomery Mental Health/Mental Retardation Center provides comprehensive mental health, mental retardation and addiction services for all people in need regardless of their ability to pay, educating the community in sound mental health practices and the training of mental health professionals in all disciplines.
The reach of mental illness
Mental illness respects no boundaries. It is an equal opportunity disease that can affect anyone - young or old, rich or poor, urban or suburban.
Mental illness is arguably the most misunderstood affliction as it wreaks havoc, creating fear, stigma, and confusion. Fortunately, with the advances in research and the efforts of advocacy groups, the myths surrounding mental illness are slowly being dispelled. This improves the likelihood that those who need help, seek it out. And it improves the quality of life of the community as a whole.
People with mental illnesses enrich our lives
Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill experienced depression. Patty Duke and musician Peter Gabriel live with manic depression. Nobel laureate John Nash lives with schizophrenia. Even Michelangelo coped with mental illness.
CENTRAL's History
It all began in 1948 when a group of concerned citizens in Montgomery County, with leadership provided by the Montgomery County Health and Welfare Council, approached Dr. Arthur P. Noyes, the Superintendent of Norristown State Hospital, about the lack of public psychiatric outpatient service in Montgomery County. Dr. Noyes, with no funding for this purpose, made available Norristown State Hospital staff and space at the hospital for outpatient psychiatric services for children and adults, particularly for those who were unable to afford private fees. The YWCA in Norristown offered additional space to accommodate those patients, particularly children, who feared going onto the hospital grounds. Dr. Noyes also responded to community leaders in Eastern Montgomery, Bucks, and Delaware Counties and established Outpatient Mental Health clinics in the Doylestown Courthouse, and Abington and Delaware County Hospitals. These Services were provided by Norristown State Hospital personnel and financed from the hospital's budget.
In 1950, the NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH ACT was passed, and the first funding for outpatient psychiatric services of $15,000 was made available through the Pennsylvania State Grant-in-Aid program. The Act required, however, that a volunteer Board of Directors be established separately from the Norristown State Hospital Board of Trustees. This was accomplished, and an agency, TRI-COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH CLINICS, was incorporated in 1950, as a private non-profit agency. All of the outpatient clinics, established in the three counties, were governed by one volunteer Board of Directors. As the demand for psychiatric services increased, the Board of Directors sought increased funding through Pennsylvania Grant-in-Aid and Community Chests. The clinics were thus able to employ and support salaries for its social work, psychological and clerical staff. The Director, however, and other personnel, space, furniture and supplies continued to be supplied by Norristown State Hospital on the hospital grounds. Free space continued to be provided at the other locations.
During the mid-fifties, tremendous strides were made in the treatment of people with mental illness. With the use of the newly discovered chemotherapy, more people were being discharged from inpatient treatment. New therapies and increasingly successful ways of treating people with mental illness were also developed. With these successes, there was new hope as public attitudes began to change, allowing a recognition that psychiatric care was an integral part of community services. By 1958, the work of Tri-County Mental Health Clinics grew to such an extent that the satellite clinics and their staffs in Bucks and Delaware Counties and Abington in Lower Montgomery County split off from Tri-County Mental Health Clinics, and began to operate their own independent clinics.
Tri-County's Board of Directors re-incorporated as the MONTGOMERY COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH CLINICS. In 1959, at the urging of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the staff moved into rented quarters, at 1115 Powell Street, Norristown. The small staff remaining began to rebuild the agency serving Montgomery County.
The 1960's were characterized by optimism and an explosion of growth and services throughout the United States. The national movement for care of people with mental illness and mental retardation continued to grow. 1961, in particular, marked a milestone in the history of that movement with the completion of the final report of the Joint Commission on Mental Health, Action for Mental Health. During the Presidency of John F. Kennedy, legislation was developed and in 1963, the Community Mental Health Centers Act was passed and federal funds became available. The thrust of that legislation was to treat people with mental illness in their communities, rather than in a hospital setting carefully "stored away" or warehoused indiscriminately, apart from population centers.
In 1962, the agency's Board of Directors, with the vision of developing a full range of services for children, moved to employ a certified adult and child psychiatrist to serve as Director.
The National Institute of Mental Health provided funds to the Agency for training stipends for child psychiatric trainees, for early consultation and education programs for children and parents, and for juvenile justice programs. The training of other mental health disciplines, social work and psychology, was strongly implemented through affiliations with colleges and universities. The liaison with Norristown State Hospital continued with resident psychiatrists from the hospital being trained at the Clinic for experience in outpatient care.
By way of increasing "grass roots" community support, two auxiliaries were formed, ALPHA, in Elkins Park, and BOK, in Central Montgomery County. These volunteers helped in the Thrift Shop, in public relations work, as teacher's aides, in tutorial reading programs as well as special projects, and financially helped to support the Clinic through benefit affairs. The "Small House School," one of Alpha Auxiliary's projects, in conjunction with the Montgomery County School District's Department of Special Education, provided the basic impetus for the establishment of classes for learning disabled and emotionally disturbed children in Montgomery County.
In 1963, although community mental health centers began to be established throughout the Country, Pennsylvania was still operating under the Pennsylvania Grant-in-Aid program Mental Health Act. A giant step in the care of the mentally ill was taken with the Pennsylvania Mental Health Act of 1966, which mandated the right of all citizens to receive mental health services.
In February, 1966, the clinic's headquarters at 1115 Powell Street was destroyed by fire. This tragedy led to use of quarters in Norristown at 1100 Powell Street, generously offered by Montgomery Hospital's Board of Trustees, and a building rented on DeKalb Street (these two buildings were nicknamed "Eastwick" and "Westwick"). The latter building on Powell Street and the vacant lot across the street were ultimately purchased from Montgomery Hospital. Satellite clinics were established in Lansdale (spun off later and known as Valley Center), in Conshohocken, and at the Church-on-the-Mall in Plymouth Meeting. Other joint ventures were implemented with the Department of Health and the Montgomery County Day Care program in the development of specialized pre-school day care services at the main Agency quarters.
In 1968, Louis Tose, then Vice-President of the Agency's Board of Directors, died suddenly. Mr. Tose's family and friends approached the Board of Directors, offering $75,000 for a memorial to him. This offer was matched by a fund-raising effort of the Board of Directors. A site was acquired for the construction of a new facility at DeKalb and Johnson Highway. However, although a zoning variation was granted, a court action by several residents of the area culminated in a ruling against the Agency in August, 1968. The Board of Directors made a decision to remain on Powell Street, and the new facility, the Louis Tose Memorial Building, was thus added to the already occupied building. In October, 1969, the staff and patients moved into its new quarters.
At about the same time, the historic Pennsylvania Mental Health Act of 1966 was finally funded and implementation began. County Commissioners in each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties were made responsible for implementing and administering, under the direction of an Administrator of MH/MR/D&A services, the ten services mandated by the Act. Each county in Pennsylvania was divided geographically into so-called "Catchment" Areas (population divisions), and Base Service Units (BSU's) were created. The Agency, in 1969, contracted with the Montgomery County MH/MR/D&A Office to become such a BSU for Catchment Area 465. This area included four boroughs Ð Norristown, Bridgeport, Conshohocken, and five townships Ð Plymouth, Whitemarsh, Upper Merion, East and West Norriton. A few years later, since the Agency was now only serving this area, it again changed its name and became CENTRAL MONTGOMERY MENTAL HEALTH/MENTAL RETARDATION CENTER.
During the middle and late seventies, Federal, State and County sources of funding began to dwindle, and growth slowed down. In Montgomery County, many administrative and fiscal changes were made with respect to the functioning of the State/County MH/MR/D&A services, such as changing the BSU concept to a Case Management concept, and an introduction of a "fee-for-service" concept instead of "program funding." Other forces and movements accelerated the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric patients into the community, dramatically reducing the population of state inpatient institutions. Despite a struggle to maintain services with shrinking funding, Central not only continued its services, but continued to respond to new needs. Although the people were receiving medical and psychiatric care, it became evident that they also needed housing, training in social skills, and possibly employment, if their adjustment in the community was to be successful. A Montgomery County Task Force on housing had focused on this particular need for several years. However, it was through financial assistance to Central by a private citizen that a community living program for finding and establishing shared living arrangements was begun at Central. Other foundation grants were secured which permitted working toward the additional goals of socialization, rehabilitation and employment training. This comprehensive program was spun off and incorporated as Hedwig House, a separate agency with its own Board of Directors. The success of Hedwig House became assured when the Montgomery County MH/MR office incorporated it as a free-standing service. There are now five houses and other programs throughout Montgomery County.
At this point, it became clear that outpatient clinics needed stronger regulation, and in 1980, the State Mental Health Office for the first time promulgated its provisions for annual licensure of Outpatient and Partial Hospitalization Units. The Center not only met these standards and continues to do so, but became a prototype for other clinics to emulate.
During the 1980's, Central extended itself further to the pre-school population. A new and unique program for so-called "high risk" children was implemented. This program, the special needs day care program, and child partial hospitalization services, evolved into a more comprehensive program (the Preschool Intervention Program Ð PIP) to include children experiencing behavioral and emotional difficulties. The demand for such services grew to a point that larger quarters were secured at the First Presbyterian Church in Norristown. A strong liaison was established with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit which services special education needs.
Another program, which includes outpatient and partial hospitalization service for school-age children, is Central's Family Life Education and Counseling Services (FLECS). This program was originally housed in the United Methodist Church in Conshohocken. Other outreach service for adolescents was established with several school districts and Montgomery County, (e.g. the Student Assistance Program). Central then expanded to provide Case Management service in the Abington area and shortly after this absorbed Service Case Management in the Lower Merion catchment area.
As more individuals were discharged from State Hospitals, increasing community support was required. In response, Central developed Intensive Case Management, a support service available around the clock, seven days a week. Our recognition that a very large number of people who come to Central for mental health services also have difficulties with substance abuse lead us to seek a license to provide Drug and Alcohol Services; we were delighted when the State Credentialing Inspector shared with us that we were the first agency he had reviewed for an initial license to which he was able to grant full, nonprovisional, status.
At approximately the time when we developed our Resource Coordination program for individuals needing personalized and comprehensive community support but who could manage for themselves after traditional work hours and on weekends, we obtained the first buildings which allowed us to think of Central as a "campus": 1201 and 1211 DeKalb Street, a short walk from our Powell Street location. This reduced the number of people sharing an office from three or four to a more comfortable two or three, and allowed us to bring our FLECS Program closer to home Ð at 1211 DeKalb Street Ð while creating in our 1100 Powell Street location an environment for Community Support Programs under one roof. Individuals and families who typically require only traditional Outpatient intervention, regardless of diagnosis or treatment history, could come to our Outpatient Treatment and Evaluation Services location at 1201 DeKalb Street. This building was named the Levitties-Miller Pavilion Ð to memorialize two of our beloved staff who had passed away , but who played a vital role in the history of Central.
The next few years saw continued growth in response to increasing flexibility of funding which allowed the development of our Community Treatment Team, which employs a "whatever-it-takes" approach to supporting people with chronic and serious mental illness in our community. CTT has succeeded in reducing by approximately 70% the number of days people served by the team needed to spend in the hospital. In response to the changing needs of children and their families, and to contribute to a more humanizing philosophy of treatment, we implemented Family Based Mental Health Services and an Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment program, both of which interventions facilitate treatment being provided in more natural settings such as the home, school and on the streets of our community. Additionally, Central was successful in securing funding support from the Pew Foundation and the Montgomery County Office of Mental Health in order to provide Child Outreach Family Specialist services to facilitate trust and collaboration between family and school for several elementary schools in the Norristown Area School District.
With the encouragement of The Montgomery County Office of Mental Health and the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services, Central was able to secure financial support from the Pew Foundation, through which we provide-in-home psychiatric and psychotherapeutic support as well as education and support to natural caregivers. We are proud that our service has reduced many senior citizens' need for nursing home care and hospitalization. In a further attempt to fill gaps in services for elderly people with mental health problems, our Adult Partial Hospital service created the OASIS program, a day treatment intervention model which addresses the particular needs of elderly individuals whose mental illness has emerged along with aging, or those who have been mentally ill for much of their lives and for whom the aging process brings additional challenges. We are particularly gratified that we have been able to contribute to the community integration of elderly people released from the State Hospital system after many years of residency therein.
Another gap in the system to which Central has been able to respond is related to the particular needs of people with developmental disabilities who also have mental illness. We restructured our Aftercare program specifically to meet the needs of people with mental retardation whose mental health needs Ð or because of strong community supports Ð do not require an intensive response. We are currently serving approximately 140 people through this service and are very pleased that, for almost all of them, the need for psychiatric hospitalization has been virtually eliminated.
In summing up Central's history at this time, recognition should be made of its tremendous pioneering efforts in the field of mental health, the special spirit that has prevailed over almost sixty years, and the caring and faith that have made Central's history so gratifying to all who have participated, while never forgetting that its reason for being is to help individuals find increased meaning and fulfillment in life.