Board and Care Services

Supervision: The primary use of the Mental Health Services Patch provided by the county is directed towards our 24/7 staffing in order to deliver increased supervision. This supervision is provided in different ways depending on the needs of the resident. The residents are allowed, when appropriate, to go without this supervision in order to encourage independence.

Meals: Our meal plans are very important to the residents at both of our facilities. We offer a rotating 6 week menu with consideration for people with special diets or needs. We have served people on a vegetarian diet and also provide the residents who have diabetes with reduced or sugar free meals. It is our belief that food is one of the few pleasures that is largely unaffected mental illness.

Groups/Activities: We work to provide a safe and structured environment for our residents. See attached "The Sail House Daily Structure" for a list of scheduled activities. A special mention is our cooperative rehabilitation and medication support groups which we conduct with Shasta and Tehama County. Other unscheduled activities include community events such the Tehama County Fair and the Red Bluff Round Up Rodeo.

Work Program: The Sail House provides a limited work program to any resident physically able to work. While this has been determined to be successful and in demand program, it is unfortunately one of our most underfunded programs.

Social Skills: Although entertaining the Residents is not a primary concern of the staff, we do find it important to teach the Residents appropriate forms of entertainment and social interactions. The Staff is encouraged, in their down time, to interact with the Residents in unstructured and unscheduled activities such as board games, dice, or Yahtzee. We also provide cable TV and a Netflix account for resident and staff use. Residents are also encouraged to check out books from the library during our Library Group/Outing on Thursdays.

Communication: Communication with the various community support systems outside of the Sail House is encouraged. A phone with unlimited long distance calling is provided to the Residents to use, as well as stamps for resident to mail letters. Wi-Fi is also available for residents and staff to look up information or to place orders for the residents.

Transportation: We provide transportation to most appointment, AA meetings, markets, and special events. We also are willing to provide transportation to some social events on a limited basis.

Assistance with appointments: We accompany Residents into most appointments and help with shopping when needed. We also work to coordinate various services and help provide needed follow up care. Common services that we assist with are: primary medial care, mental health services, lab work, physical therapy, pharmacy/medications, hospital visits, skilled nursing facilities, insurance companies, payees, and home health care. It is our goal to insure seamless coordinated services so that our residents are able receive the best possible medical and mental health care.

Music and TV: Music and cable television is available for both resident and staff use. However, music is often encouraged over TV as it has been found to be more mentally stimulating and relaxing for the residents.

Holidays and Birthdays: Small celebrations are held all birthdays and most holidays. For example, on a resident's birthday we provide a meal and snack of their choosing to the whole house, such as pizza for dinner with cake and ice cream for snack. We also work to accommodate any religious or spiritual celebrations, varying with each resident.

Emergency/crisis support (See "Transportation" and "Assistance with appointments"): Our staff is trained to appropriately respond to a crisis or emergency and to understand that they can happen at any time. An administrative staff is available 24/7 through our "on-call" system to assist in emergency and crisis response. These responses range from calling 911 to encouraging a resident to call the local CCRU (Community Crisis Response Unit).

Medication Management (See also "Assistance with appointments"): All routine medications given to residents are prepackaged by our local pharmacy, and are provided to the resident by a staff member. We keep a log on all medications provided, as well as a current med list and prescription on file for each resident.

Follow up Care: Former residents are encouraged to call or come by for a meal or visit whenever they want. Typically former residents just visit on major holidays. If a former resident is in crisis and seeks help from us, they would be referred to the appropriate support system.