When you are the parent of a someone who has a serious mental illness, it can be a daunting and disheartening process to try to get them the care they need.

On the flip side, when you connect with a team that cares — and demonstrates that care with practical, tangible, meaningful support — it can rekindle hope and create space for positive change.

This positive change is happening at Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Regional Intensive Community Treatment (ICT) programs — where Kaiser has teamed up with Telecare to make sure that people with high risk and high-level needs get excellent service and integrated care – out in the community where they live, work, and lead their lives.

The programs just opened in 2020 and the positive impact is already being felt.

One Mother’s Story

Recently, a mother of a former Kaiser ICT client reached out to let us know how the program made a difference for her son and her family — thanks to the care and dedication shown by staff member, Jessica Albin, a case manager and certified drug and alcohol abuse counselor.

“From the very first contact with Jessica I felt life she was actually listening to me and my concerns. My call was to reach out for help regarding my son. She listened and I know I probably sounded like a rambling, overprotective helicopter mom. I knew my son needed help. She was able to go see him that day and agreed he did need help. She took him on in her caseload and was amazing!
“She was always available by phone to either talk or text. She attended his court hearings for Mental Health Court and gave me updates. She visited him at his residence (and agreed with me that it was a horrible living situation). She was instrumental in assisting that he be evaluated for a higher level of care.
“In this journey of dealing with my son’s illness (schizophrenia), I have had so much negativity of the stigma of mental health illness to deal with. Jessica was never like that. She was understanding and supportive. She truly gave me a reason to believe that there are good people out there and that they like the job they have and care about the clients they help.”

Jessica goes above and beyond to ensure her patients get the care and support they need, just like all her teammates in our Kaiser ICT programs. She is committed to Telecare’s mission of providing excellent services — with respect and partnership, so that the clients and families we serve feel our investment, our connection, our support, and hope. We are so proud of our staff and are thankful for our partnership with Kaiser Permanente allowing us to continue to provide exceptional work.

Learn More About Telecare and Kaiser Permanente

Telecare has partnered with Kaiser Permanente for more than 20 years, providing acute inpatient and intensive community-based mental health services.

The Kaiser Intensive Community Treatment (ICT) model was first piloted in 2017 and was expanded to include four Northern California “hubs” in 2019-2020.

The ICT model helps people who have high risk and a high-level of need get intensive, integrated care out in the community. The ICT model serves people who have not be able or willing to make use Kaiser’s traditional office-based services and often end up requiring emergency psychiatric care and hospitalization. Our ICT teams help clients get stable, get the support they need, and get connected to Kaiser services and other community resources like substance use counseling, housing, employment, benefits, dental services and more.

Click here to learn more about Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Regional Intensive Community Treatment (ICT) programs.