Portage mental health board earns Culture of Quality certification

The Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County recently received the Culture of Quality certification.

The Culture of Quality is a collaborative effort of the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, and its member boards designated to enhance quality, promote statewide consistency and demonstrate accountability of board operations.

To achieve the certification, boards participate in a peer certification that checks the board’s conformance with the culture of quality standards. Peers from other behavioral health boards conduct an evaluation of a board’s operation in more than 140 standards, including public affairs/education/community relations/policy/advocacy; risk management and insurance; board health and safety; human resources; mission and program; governance; board finance and operations; and ethics.

“We spent months preparing our policies and other documents for the two-day survey,” said John Garrity, executive director of the Mental Health Recovery Board of Portage County. “Rebecca Rood, our director of compliance and quality improvement, led the project for us. She did an outstanding job.”

During the certification, the board was commended for its work to enhance the crisis system in Portage County with the development of a new Crisis Center. The board is working with Coleman Health Services on a capital project to expand crisis services for adults, children, and families. The project is expected to begin later this year, with an anticipated finish date in the fall of 2025.

Other noted strengths were the comprehensive resource guides for mental health and addiction, outreach into the minority community, and safety features in the office, such as the addition of an AED defibrillator.

“We are very proud of our board staff for completing this process,” stated William Nome, board chairman. “Updating all of our policies will improve the overall quality of the Board’s operations.”

The certification is for a three-year period.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage mental health board earns Culture of Quality certification