Professional Issues
Celebrating Ten Years of the Lilly Reintegration Awards - Where Are They Now?
Mojave Adult, Child and Family Services, Las Vegas, Nevada
2002 Reintegration Award Winner, Clinical Medicine
When Jim Parcells and Michael Howie were laid off after 14 years of service in the state of Nevada’s mental health system, they began working on a program to address what they saw as a growing need - “to assist individuals with mental illness through the provision of community based services, empowering people to live safely and participate in their community, while pursuing personal goals and maximizing the quality of life.” To that end, in 1992, they created the Mojave Adult, Child and Family Services, a program of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Nevada Family Practice Residency Program.
In 2002, the Lilly Reintegration Award in Clinical Medicine was awarded to Mojave for excellence in its service “as a partner in the public mental health system as well as a member of the health care and social services community” in Nevada. Jim Parcells recalls the significance of the award: “To be nationally recognized was very important. It was, and still is, a great honor,” he said.
Since receiving the award four years ago, Mojave Adult, Child and Family Services has grown exponentially. For example, three additional locations have been opened (for a total of nine locations in Nevada), adult case management and drug treatment programs have been added and services at all locations have been expanded. The program’s estimated 188 employees work an estimated 4,000 hours per month on expanded day program services, and an estimated 10,000 hours per month on direct clinical health and services.
Additionally, Mojave now partners with six other organizations with homeless outreach programs and is participating in “Neighborhood Care Centers,” a collaboration of many state agencies including child-care agencies, to provide a “one-stop shop” for dealing with a variety of community health issues.
Despite the tremendous growth and success of the program thus far, co-founder Jim Parcells sees even greater expansion of Mojave’s much-needed services into Nevada’s underserved rural communities as a future focus for the organization.
For more information about Mojave Adult, Child and Family Services, please visit, www.mojave.org.
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