July 7, 2011

The National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH) is a professional organization founded in 1977 in order to develop and enhance rural mental health and substance abuse services and to support mental health providers in rural areas, to proactively support initiatives that will strengthen the voices of rural consumers and their families, and to develop and mentor the next generation of rural mental health leaders and researchers.  NARMH’s membership includes the entire spectrum of the rural mental health community:  consumers, family members, practitioners, administrators, educators, researchers, and policy makers.

A focus on rural which includes a commitment to rural people and those that serve them has always been the priority and unifying force in NARMH. This belief that rural comes first has allowed NARMH to concentrate its efforts to improve access, availability, acceptability of mental health and substance abuse services and research in rural and frontier areas.

“These are challenging times for health and mental health care providers, especially in rural areas”, stated Werlein.  “It is important that organizations with a rural focus are available for consumers and practitioners to share learning experiences and brainstorm on ideas for addressing unique rural challenges.”  Over the next few years NARMH will be focusing on integration of behavioral and physical health care, developing the most appropriate ways to serve veterans in outlying rural areas, addressing ways to further develop a rural behavioral health workforce that is focused on recovery and community integration and delivers services that are culturally and clinically appropriate, and developing partnerships that will help maximize the benefits of resources that are available.  

Commissioner John Kight, Chairman of the Hill Country Board added, “Mrs. Werlein’s appointment as President of NARMH is extremely important in securing the welfare of our consumers.  Through this position she will utilize her conscientiousness, dedication and commitment to the unique challenges presented by delivering mental health services in the rural setting to ensure essential services for an individual’s recovery are available in rural areas.  As a board, we are proud of her leadership abilities and dedication to the consumers of Hill Country and to her ongoing commitment to rural mental health nationwide.”  

“I am honored by the opportunity to serve as President of NARMH”, said Werlein. “NARMH is focused on ensuring researchers, practitioners, consumers and their families understand the importance of individualized quality services designed to assist an individual in their recovery from their illness.  NARMH’s vision aligns perfectly with Hill Country’s mission, promoting independence, community integration and recovery, and the challenges we face in our rural service area.”

Hill Country MHDD Center serves a 19 county area of the greater Texas Hill Country including the counties of Bandera, Blanco, Comal, Edwards, Gillespie, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Llano, Mason, Medina, Menard, Real, Schleicher, Sutton, Uvalde and Val Verde.  Serving over 10,000 individuals on an annual basis, Hill Country operates 10 mental health clinics, 8 developmental disability centers, 8 early childhood intervention centers, and a Crisis Stabilization Unit for individuals from the area needing inpatient mental health services.  Hill Country was most recently featured in a June 2011 publication by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration titled Rural Behavioral Health Programs and Promising Practices for the continuity of services provided between their mental health clinics and the Hill Country Crisis Stabilization Unit.  A copy of the publication may be found at www.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth/.

For more information Hill Country or NARMH, please visit either www.hillcountry.org or www.narmh.org.