Enriching Life...

Enhancing Lives
Volume 7, Issue 1 October 2014
CARF Accreditation: What does that mean?
By: Larry Elmore, Director of Quality Improvement
In the lobby in of our centers is a certificate that says Daymark Recovery Services, Inc. is CARF accredited. It is a small
certificate, but one that is very important to us. What does it mean for you, the person using our services?
It is an assurance that we, when compared with all the other facilities in the country who do what we do, provide high quality,
comparable services. It is a survey that occurs every three years. Our facilities are visited by a team of "experts" in the
behavioral health field that verify that we are actually doing what we say we are doing!
CARF stands for the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. It was founded in 1966 as a private, not for
profit organization whose mission is to "...promote the quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative
accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served." Now that is a mouthful, but it basically means
that they are assuring you that we really do provide good quality services!
Just because CARF surveys us every three years, does not mean that we are not routinely visited by the local Fire Department,
the Health Department and even the State of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. They all visit us in an
effort to make sure we are providing a reasonable service in a safe place. CARF on the other hand looks at our overall quality of
service provided, not just specific items like fire extinguishers or the cleanliness of our residential facilities.
In order to meet the CARF standards, we survey you, the people we serve, our employees and the agencies that refer people in
need of help to us. It is an ongoing process of constantly looking at how we operate and trying to improve it. For example, as
the result of CARF we have started "surveying" our facilities for issues or concerns with accessibility. We want to know that
the people we serve can easily get into and out of the buildings and have ready access to specific parts of our buildings, like
bathrooms. You would be amazed at the things such a simple survey turns up around building and service accessibility.
The next time you are in one of our facilities, take a moment and look for that little piece of paper that assure you that you are
getting good quality services.


INSIDE THIS ISSUE. . .
CARF ACCREDITATION
CLIENT COMMENTS
QUIT
PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS
AWARENESS CALENDAR
ADULT SMOKING
Your point of view matters to us!
I f you woul d l i ke t o j oi n t he Cl i ent Ri ght s
Commi t t ee, pl ease cont act Qual i t y Assur ance
Di r ect or Bonni e Mi l l er at 704 - 939- 1141 or
bmi l l er @daymar kr ecover y. or g.

The Beacon
News of Interest from Daymark Recovery Services
www.daymarkrecovery.org

Cliccilats Q
"I came through the CRC and it was great to be at a
place as pleasant as this. The staff are wonderful and they
seem to really care about their clients. I could have never
detoxed by myself without coming here. I could never
succeeded on my own. I feel better today and I hope to go to
residential care after this. Thanks so much for helping me in
my recovery!"
"Daymark is a wonderful healing place with staff that
truly cares about the individual. I feel like a weight has been
lifted. They are truly professional with a gifted understanding
of lives struggles. I would recommend their services to
anybody that truly wants to change their lives. If you feeling
down and that people are not listening to you about your
mental needs or you need group/individual therapy then
Daymark is the place I recommend. They do not treat you like
you are a number or down play the addiction that you're
dealing with. They take you seriously and give you strength.
They understand that mental stability is just as important as
your addiction and they treat both. They treat you with respect
and you feel the love in their hearts."
What if the tools to quit smoking were easier to find than
cigarettes?
Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of smartphonesmore
U.S. adults have them in their pockets than cigarettesthe
National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed QuitPal, a mobile
app to help people quit smoking.
The free app provides tools to help those who want to be
smoke-free with research-based strategies, including:
A calendar function to set quit dates, track financial
goals, and schedule reminders
A log to track daily smoking habits
Graphic features showing money saved and packs of
cigarettes not smoked
Health milestone alerts and craving tips to keep users
motivated
Access to NCI's Cancer Information Service by toll-free
phone line or live Web chat
QuitPal free app., the QuitlineNC.com 1-800-QUIT-NOW
PROTECTING YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
June Basnight, RN-BC Davidson Center


Privacy and confidentiality are basic rights in our society. Safeguarding those rights, with respect to an individual's personal
health information, is Daymark's ethical and legal obligation as your mental health care provider. Doing so in today's health
care environment is increasingly challenging due to the ever increasing advancements in technology including smart phones
and tablets. Not only do these devices enable verbal communication, they also enable the user to make recordings and to take
pictures.
Daymark takes your right to privacy and confidentiality seriously. To safeguard the privacy of all our consumers, Daymark has
instituted the following policy regarding the use of cell phones in our facilities.
Cell phones must be turned off and kept in purse or pocket when on Daymark premises, including the lobby and all
treatment areas.
If you are expecting an emergency call you will need to notify staff, put your phone on vibrate and exit Daymark
premises to return the call.
All audio/video recording devices are prohibited.

October
5th - 11th Mental Illness Awareness Week
9th National Depression Screening Day
23rd - 31st Red Ribbon Week (Drug Free America) ADHD
Awareness Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Bullying Prevention Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
November
9th - 15th Mental Health Wellness Week
20th Great American Smoke Out
22nd International Survivors of Suicide Day
December
National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
January
18th - 24th National Non Smoking Week

Adult Smoking: Focusing on People with Mental Illness
CDC Vitalsigns Feb 2013
Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the US. Despite overall declines in smoking,
more people with mental illness smoke than people without mental illness. Because many people with mental illness smoke,
many of them will get sick and die early from smoking.
Recent research has shown that, like other smokers, adults with mental illness who smoke want to quit, can quit, and benefit
from proven stop-smoking treatments. Some mental health providers and facilities have made progress in this area, while
others are now beginning to address tobacco use. The 2006 Surgeon General's Report (available at www.surgeongeneral.gov)
found that smoke-free policies reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and help smokers quit. Mental health facilities can
benefit by making their campuses 100% smoke-free and by making stopping tobacco use part of an overall approach to treatment
and wellness. It is critical that people with mental illness get the mental health services they need and are able to get help to quit
smoking to improve their overall health and wellness.
For this report, mental illness is defined as a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder, other than a developmental or substance abuse
disorder.
Smoking is much more common in adults with mental illness than other adults.
Smokers who quit have immediate health benefits.
Risk for a heart attack drops sharply just 1 year after
quitting.
After 2 to 5 years, the chance of stroke can fall to about the
same as a nonsmoker's.
Within 5 years of quitting, the chance of cancer of the
mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder is cut in half.
Ten years after quitting smoking, the risk for dying from lung
cancer drops by half.
Adults with mental illness who smoke want to and are able
to quit.
Like other smokers, smokers with mental illness are
interested in quitting, are able to quit, and have a better
chance of quitting successfully when they have access to
proven stop-smoking treatments.
With careful monitoring, quitting smoking does not interfere
with treatments for mental illness and can be part of the
treatment
People with mental illness face challenges in quitting smoking
and may benefit from extra help to succeed in quitting. This
can include more counseling as well as longer use or a
combination of stop-smoking medicines.

More attention is needed to help people with mental illness
quit smoking.
Some mental health facilities still allow smoking.
Some mental health facilities allow smoking as a reward for
progress.
Some mental health facilities now provide counseling
and medicine to help smokers quit.
Smoking and mental illness
Nicotine has mood-altering effects that put people with
mental illness at higher risk for cigarette use and nicotine
addiction,
People with mental illness are more likely to have stressful
living conditions, be low income, and lack access to health
insurance, health care, and help quitting. All of these factors
make it more challenging to quit.
Evidence shows that there has been direct tobacco marketing to
people with mental illness and other vulnerable groups of people.
What Can Be Done
Federal agencies and national partners are working to reduce tobacco use among people with mental illness.
This includes
Helping states develop action plans to reduce smoking by people with mental illness.
Providing funding to promising state and local programs that make stop-smoking treatment part of mental health treatment and
wellness.
Making stop-smoking treatments more available to people who want to quit.
Conducting research focused on the health and longevity of people with mental illness.
Providing information to mental health treatment facilities on the benefits of tobacco-free campus policies (i.e., no use of any
tobacco product inside the facility or anywhere on its grounds). Several states are already putting these policies in place.
More progress can be achieved:
By mental health professionals
Asking their patients if they use tobacco; if they do, helping them quit.
Offering proven quitting treatments, including tailored quit assistance, to patients who use tobacco.
Referring patients interested in quitting to 1-800-QUIT-NOW, www.smokefiee.gov, or other resources.
Providing more counseling, support, and stop-smoking medicines.
Making quitting tobacco part of an overall approach to treatment and wellness.
Monitoring and adjusting mental health medicines as needed in people trying to quit using tobacco. Continued



By mental health Edifies
Including quitting treatments as part of mental health treatment and wellness.
Stopping practices that encourage tobacco use (such as not providing cigarettes to patients and not allowing staff to smoke with
patients).
Making their entire campus 100% smoke-free as noted in the 2006 Surgeon General's Report (available at www.surgeongeneral.gov).
Several states are already putting these recommendations in place.
By state and community leaders
Helping mental health and tobacco control programs to work together to reduce tobacco use among people with mental illness.
Encouraging state mental health and addiction agencies to put in place tobacco quitting programs and tobacco-free campuses.
Supporting sustained, evidence-based tobacco control programs.
By people with mental airless
Deciding to quit using tobacco right away. The sooner they stop, the sooner their bodies can begin to heal, and the less likely they are
to get sick from tobacco use.
Asking their doctors and mental health treatment providers for help to quit.
Calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW for free help quitting and going to www.smokefree.gov for a step-by-step quit guide.
Avoiding secondhand smoke; making their home and vehicles smoke-free.
Supporting friends who are trying to quit.
Percent of Adults with Mental Illness Who Smoke
Soisce: National Stove/ on Drug Use and Peal, 2009-2011, Adatts ages 18 on cider
"Source
.
Natonal Survey on Drug Use anollea0, 20092011, Aduls ages 25 or older
Want to learn more? Visit - http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsgns

Mission Statement:
Daymark Recovery Services, Inc. is a mission driven comprehensive community provider of culturally sensitive mental health and substance abuse
services. The Daymark goal is for skilled medical and behavioral healthcare professionals to support citizens of all ages and their families with the
greatest opportunity for recovery, independence and the highest aualitv of life. We are committed to using the most current best practices and
effective research-based treatment programs to assist all citizens working toward achieving optimum health and recovery.

We hope this publication proves useful and we invite your thoughts regarding its content, format and distribution.
Please contact Quality Assurance Director Bonnie Miller (bmillerdaymarkrecovery.orq)
for comments and suggestions, or to request topics for future issues.

By poverty level
34%
/ WOMEN
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Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2009-2011, Adults ages 18 or older
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