Director's Message

October 14, 2005

To: DHS employees

From: Bryan Johnston, Interim DHS Director

I feel like a long-winded speaker who says "finally" two or three times before he can finally end. Last week I said that counting this one, I'd have two director's messages left. Oops. This week I can confidently say that I'll send two more director's messages after this one. This week continues my discussion on the DHS core values -- this time the focus is on: "responsibility."

In all, the topics are:

• Responsibility,
• Celebrating heroes, and
• A few words about our new director.

Of our 5 core values -- Integrity, Stewardship, Respect, Responsibility, and Professionalism -- Responsibility is the most nuanced. The meaning of each of the others is consistent in all contexts. Responsibility means something special in our context.

Our version of Responsibility speaks to our relationships. When we identified the DHS values we saw at the core, we struggled with how to capture the very different relationships we have to the public, to customers, to clients, to partners, to volunteers, to contractors, to other government bodies, and to the Oregon Legislature.

The guidelines included with the values suggest how we apply the value of Responsibility to our various relationships. It speaks about accountability, trustworthiness, setting expectations, competence, and sensitivity. It basically comes down to knowing who we are, knowing what the relationship calls for, and knowing how to deliver what is fair and appropriate for that relationship.

Celebrating Heroes
While we have "heroes" doing good works around the department regularly, here are a few that have came to my attention recently. Recipients of the 2005 Mental Health Awards for Excellence were recognized this month at the State Capitol. These are just a few of the thousands of Oregonians who work every day to improve the lives of those with mental illness. The annual awards are sponsored by DHS, NAMI Oregon and the Oregon Psychiatric Association.

One of the most important things managers can do is "catch people doing good." That includes our partners and others whose actions advance the mission of DHS. OMHAS just gave us a great example of this activity.

The award recipients included: State Sen. Peter Courtney; Marvin Fickle, M.D., State Hospital superintendent; Jamie Rockwell, administrative assistant for DHS mental health and addiction services; Beckie Child, a Portland consumer advocate who has helped adults with serious mental illness to live, work, learn and participate fully while also training consumers and professionals; David Romprey, a Salem consumer advocate who links consumers and decision makers by consulting with agencies, speaking to conferences and advocating for consumers; Cyndy Cook, executive director of Redmond-based Central Oregon Regional Housing Authority; Suzanne Madden, a Center for Human Development geriatric mental health specialist, who has been a leader in developing services in Union County and elsewhere in Eastern Oregon; and Darlene Osburn, executive director of a Corvallis drop-in center called Circle of Hope, whose work has given it a reputation as a friendly place for low-income mental health consumers.

Others recognized included Neil Falk, M.D., for going well beyond his normal medical practice to show kindness and compassion for mental health consumers facing surgery's fear of the unknown; Mark McKechnie, MSW, a Juvenile Rights Project social worker in Portland who was a leader in promoting mental health practices that ensure children are served closer to home with greater parental involvement; Kim Miller, Options for Southern Oregon executive director in Grants Pass, for expanding opportunities for and understanding of people with mental illness through activities such as camping, a bakery and café, and food-service work. Also recognized were Project ABLE ("A Better Living Experience"), which delivers peer-to-peer supports to help Salem-area consumers in their recovery and enhance their quality of life through life-long empowerment, and Central City Concern, a Portland nonprofit that is restoring the 1911 Hotel Alder and operates Old Town Clinic, residential treatment for low-income chemically dependent pregnant women and other services.

A few words about our new director
We are very fortunate to have a new director coming on board with the experience and knowledge of human services that Dr. Bruce Goldberg has. Few of us like to talk about ourselves, so I wanted to share a little bit of what I know of Bruce as a person, so that you could get to know him better as well.

Bruce grew up in New York City -- Queens to be exact -- and worked as an NYC taxi driver to pay his way through medical school. (He is still a New York Yankees fan, which I don't hold against him.) His career has focused largely on human services policy, health care and social services, and he has worked first hand in providing this care in various settings around the country including setting up health care clinics at the local level.

He and his wife, who is a family doctor, visited Oregon at one point and loved this area, ending up moving here permanently. Their two daughters -- ages 18 and 14 -- have lived most of their lives in this state. Bruce also is a musician in his "spare time," playing harmonica in a rhythm and blues band, which will be performing at Lefty's in Salem Oct. 20, as a benefit for the Charitable Fund Drive.

Bruce will be here at DHS as of November 1 as your director, pending Senate confirmation. You will get an opportunity then to get to know him better through his messages and one-on-one visits with you.

This message is intended for all department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.

If you have a disability and need this message to be provided to you in another format, please send an email to dhs.forms@state.or.us, or call (503) 947-5107. You can also fax your request to (503) 373-7690, or call (503) 947-5080 for TTY service. If you know of others who need this accommodation, please let them know it is available.