May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to express our deepest gratitude to all the mental health professionals who make a difference in the world. Your selflessness, compassion, and tireless dedication do not go unnoticed. Thank you for all that you do! 💕 “My name is Danielle Lumia, and I am the manager of Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) at Samaritan Hospital. This is an intensive outpatient program where we focus on the recovery of patients with mental illness, who may also have substance use issues. Among other things, we use skills-based and wellness classes to help them deal with grief, learn to socialize, find a job … whatever their personal goals for recovery are. We teach people their diagnosis is not who they are as a person; it’s something they can choose to manage in a healthy way so they can realize their dreams just like people who don’t have a chronic condition. I started as a therapist here almost 20 years ago and have worked in almost every role. I grew up here! I’m so grateful for this experience to see people as whole beings. It really falls in line with who I am as a person. My goal as a leader is for my staff to be open and willing to treat people who look challenging on paper. I believe in giving people second chances – and third, and fourth, and fifth chances – to achieve recovery. I find it to be the most rewarding thing. I also work to remove the stigma of mental illness, including encouraging providers to look beyond a patient’s mental health diagnosis, not letting that cloud the symptoms they are seeking help for. We have former patients who now work in this department, have gone to medical school and are successful … they learn they can do anything! This career really chose me more than I chose it. I can’t imagine doing anything else! I’m very blessed that I get to show up every day and live my “why.” I want our patients and my staff to experience that same opportunity.” For more information on our behavioral health services, click here 👉 https://bit.ly/4k7ginG. For our PROS program, call 518-271-1122 and ask to speak to the intake coordinator. (fb)

Medicaid is more than a health program — it's a lifeline for millions of Americans. Right now, proposals to cut Medicaid are moving forward in Congress. The Catholic Health Association of the United States and leaders from across Catholic Health Care, including Trinity Health President and CEO Mike Slubowski, are urgently speaking out about what's at stake - coverage, access, and care for the most vulnerable in our communities. Watch the briefing ➡️ (fb)