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The Civic Involvement Committee of The League Club, Inc. recently awarded the David Lawrence Centers and Foundation a $10,000 grant from their Community Trust Fund.

The grant will be used to fund the purchase of a new vehicle in order to improve access to mental health services at the Center’s Immokalee Satellite Services Office. The vehicle will be used by case management staff to transport clients to the office for individual therapy and psychiatric medical appointments – many of which are delivered through the innovative, new telemedicine program – and to provide community based outreach, assessment and referral services.

Case management services are designed to help clients with a diagnosed mental health disorder and/or co-existing substance use problem achieve an optimal level of independence by coordinating care and assisting with problem solving, overcoming treatment barriers, medication management and socialization. These services are provided in the individual’s natural environment such as the home or school where they can be monitored regularly to ensure an ongoing continuity of care is maintained, newly identified needs are addressed and progress is being achieved toward treatment plan goals.

In January 2011, the David Lawrence Centers launched the new telemedicine program which utilizes high-definition video conferencing units to bring doctors, therapists and clients together virtually between the Center’s main campus in Naples and the rural, agricultural community of Immokalee approximately 30 miles inland. Since that time, the launch of telemedicine has dramatically increased the number of clients being served in Immokalee and the volume of individual services each client receives.

As a result, additional bilingual case management staff has been added to the Immokalee team to help deliver these telemedicine services. Case managers not only assist with transportation to telemedicine appointments, but also set up/log into the telemedicine equipment, provide translation services as needed and often remain in the room with the client during the telemedicine appointment.

David Lawrence Centers CEO David Schimmel states, “Due to the mobile nature of delivering these services, case managers needed a reliable economy vehicle in order to assist clients – particular children – and their families without the ability to come to the office for their telemedicine appointments. With the League Club’s generous support, the Center has eliminated transportation as a barrier to receiving treatment. This has greatly improved the likelihood that individuals will receive the care they need, when they need it, resulting in more preventative treatment.”

Prior to the launch of telemedicine, the Center relied on a handful of Spanish and Creole speaking staff from Naples to travel to Immokalee to provide medication management and outpatient therapy. Clients now have immediate access to doctors four days a week rather twice a month. In addition to improved, timely access to mental health services, the telemedicine technology has expanded the different specialties available at the remote satellite location. The treatment team can now consider who the best clinical and medical staff person is company-wide to treat each case.

Penny Isermann, League Club Vice President-Community and Chair of the Civic Involvement Committee, stated, “We are pleased to award this grant to agencies like the David Lawrence Centers who work tirelessly to strengthen our community and raise the quality of life for all residents in Collier and Lee counties.”
About the League Club

The League Club, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization of women in Southwest Florida strengthening communities through fellowship, education, volunteerism and philanthropy. The League Club is open to women who have been or still are active members of a Junior League that is a member of the Association of Junior Leagues International.