Southeast Health Group Receives National Award for Excellence in Mental Health

Laura DiPrince Impact Award 2013

April 12, 2013 (La Junta, CO) — Southeast Health Group has received the 2013 National Council Award of Excellence for Service Innovation from the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council).

The National Council Awards of Excellence honor the innovative and inspirational efforts of individuals and organizations — staff, board leaders, volunteers, consumers, families, and community partners — who are changing the lives of children, adults, and families living with mental illnesses and addiction disorders.

Southeast Health Group was named “Program of Significance” for Summer Jam, a 12-week, day-camp style program that uses expressive therapies, behavioral skills training and self-advocacy activities to make a difference for youth. Participants attend one day a week to practice positive social skills to help them build self-esteem, cope with depression, and better manage anxiety and stress.

Youth and Family Services Director, Laura DiPrince was recognized at a special ceremony on April 9 during the 2013 National Council Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Former First Lady and founder of the Carter Center, Rosalynn Carter was the guest of honor at this event, which also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Community Mental Health Act signed into law by President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

“The National Council Awards of Excellence this year commemorate President Kennedy’s vision of a new frontier in behavioral health, one in which individuals with mental illnesses and addictions recover in community. Our honorees are helping us advance toward this new frontier — one piece of art, one program, one scientific breakthrough, one public policy success, and one story of hope at a time,” said Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO of the National Council. “The stories are inspiring. Honorees have turned their private pain into public passion. We applaud their selflessness, their service, and their sense of commitment,” she added.

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About Southeast Health Group

Southeast Health Group is a 501c3 nonprofit healthcare provider serving the citizens of southeastern Colorado since 1957. Southeast Mental Health Services, Partnership for Progress and Wellness Works are the three companies that form Southeast Health Group. As the only comprehensive outpatient provider of substance use disorder, mental health and primary care services, Southeast Health Group served over 3,500 unique individuals and employed a caring and competent staff of 75 during the 2011-12 fiscal year. For more information, call (719) 384-5446 or go to www.semhs.org; www.partnershipforprogress.com; or www.sewellnessworks.org.

Jeannie Larsen
719.383.5428
jlarsen@semhs.org
www.semhs.org