Robbin Miller

Congratulations to the graduate students from the Social Work and Mental Health programs across the program. Your hard work and dedication will pay off as you enter the “real world.” Here is the top ten list from a seasoned professional of fourteen years in the trenches:

I love when Spring arrives in New England. "It comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb" as the saying goes. I have good news to report in my neck of the words. I wrote in the past about the inequities in the mental health system for children on commercial health insurances who need intensive services and can't access them. I am glad to hear that there is proposed legislation in Massachusetts to mandate that commercial insurance cover children who need intensive care coordiation for their mental health needs. What this acutally means is that counselors and social workers would get paid for doing collateral services such as going to school meetings and calling primary care doctors on behalf of their clients. At the present time, providers are unreimbursed for their time if they conduct these extra services outside of the counseling parameter for their clients. Over one thirty five organizations co-sponsor this legislation. The state chapter of the National Social Work Association is one the organizations co-sponsoring this bill. However, I don't know if the state chapter for Mental Health Counselors Association is co-sponsoring this bill as there is no information on their website (www.mamhca.org) that says they do. If anyone who belongs to this organization knows, please email me privately. If the bill passes, all children and not just those on Mass Health (medicaid) will receive due diligence for their mental health needs.

I am learning so much about making sacrifices to makes ends meet while my husband looks for a full-time job and consults twenty hours a week with no benefits. Due to not being able to afford CORBA payments from my husband's previous employer, I am paying 50% of my paycheck for health insurance costs on a bi-monthly basis. It is outrageous and unfair that I am now bringing home a lower amount in my paycheck that comes out to $ 10.00 an hour minus the costs for health insurance. If I was single with a child, I would be eligible for extra help from the government to help cover the costs of my health insurance. However, since I am married with a child, my spouse and I can't get any help. Last year, I worked a part-time job while I collected partial unemployment benefits on a weekly basis. My husband took the brunt of paying for some of my bills which dwindled our bank account. Presently, we are working with a debt consolidation company to get lower payments for our credit card acccount.

On Martin Luther King, Jr, birthday, I had a dentist appointment at 6:30 PM. The secretary called me earlier in the day to say that the dentist would take me at this time due to a pending snow storm on Tuesday. I took the opportunity to take this appointment on my day off and as my spouse would watch our son at this time. I arrive on time but the secretary told me that the dentist was running 15 minutes late. I said I don’t mind waiting as I can get comfortable reading the business magazines on a soft grey cushion chair. As I read each article, I kept looking at my watch every five minutes. It is 655 PM, dentist is still busy with another patient who said “Ouch” a few times as I hear the sound of the drill. I shrieked as I felt butterflies hitting my stomach muscles. I read another article and I noticed it is now 7 PM. I asked the secretary if the dentist will see me or not this evening. She said in a few minutes.

This past week, I found out that a long-term client whom I will call LG passed away at the age of 44 years old, when I read her obituary in an online newspaper. I saw this client for ten years when I worked for two different agencies, and then, terminated with her in November when I got a new job. I was so saddened to hear of her sudden passing. LG died from muscular atrophy, a form of muscular dystrophy that resulted in her being vent dependent and relying on round the clock personal care attendants to take care of her physical needs. LG used a power chair where she was able to use only two fingers to steer the joystick to move around freely. LG educated me about the true meaning of life. She was not an inspiration to me as some people would call her in the general media, but a person who mentored me in understanding the true nature of having a chronic disability.