Douglas Gardens Community Mental Health Center of Miami Beach
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The Douglas Gardens Community Mental Health Center provides comprehensive mental health services to people living in the Greater Miami Beach area. The Center was established in 1979 as a federally funded CMHC private non-profit State of Florida Corporation. The Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and the National Council for Behavioral Health Care Organization. It is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of 21 volunteers living in the Center’s service area who are vested in the Center’s client’s success. The Board provides overall policy direction for the Center operations.
Adults of all ages and backgrounds come to the Center for help managing their symptoms and living comfortably within the community. Our broad array of behavioral health care programs and services help these individuals achieve a more functional life and support resiliency and recovery for individuals who are living with mental illness. The Center treats chronic mental illness, acute emotional disorders, substance abuse, and special population needs. The center’s bilingual professionals (English and Spanish) also provide help for individuals with substance abuse problem, experiencing domestic violence, living homeless, and needing help with a loved one that has Alzheimer’s disease.
The Center is a recovery-based model of care for co-occurring treatment. We use assessment tools that reflect strength-based recovery approaches and self-directed care. Our treatment plans incorporate Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP). We have a self-assessment tool and procedure as part of the intake process (ROSI). Implemented evidence based practice modules into group interventions (Social Rehabilitation). Recovery and Wellness materials are used in outpatient, case management, and residential mental health services. We have an established peer counseling program including peer-facilitated support groups and clubs. Staff and Peers have been trained utilizing the “Train the Trainer” format and are active in coordinating Recovery -Oriented Mental Health Services. We do didactic training addressing co-occurring disorders through the CCISC Partnership and the administration of the baseline surveys (COMPASS and CODECAT).
At the center, you can also expect superlative care for a senior family member or loved one. And, many services are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance.
Our Mission
The Mission of the Douglas Gardens Community Mental Health Center is to provide a comprehensive range of behavioral health care services which are: easily accessible, affordable, responsive to patient needs, designed to maximize patient functioning and independence and meet or exceed the community standards for care.
Our Vision
The Douglas Gardens Community Mental Health Center will be regarded as preferred provider of behavioral health care services by its clients and the community it serves.
Our way of doing Business
The quality of our clinical services and excellence in customer service drives our success. Our Center can only prosper and provide opportunities for employment and growth when we continually improve ourselves and the services we provide. We are measured as much by the way in which we achieve our goals, as we are by the actual achievements themselves. We believe that a commitment to uncompromising values and integrity should always guide our decisions and actions as we pursue our goals.
Following are the core values that form the foundation of our measurement of success:
We believe in providing legendary service. Our goal is to provide genuine personal care and attention to each and every customer.
We believe that good isn't enough. We never stop trying to do it better, no matter how good we are. We constantly strive to “raise the bar”.
We believe in honesty and trust. We work to build trust with others in each and every transaction and interaction. We recognize that honesty and trust form the bond that holds organizations and relationships together.
We believe in the ongoing training and development of our people. We see training and development as a worthy investment in the future of the Center and a way of enabling our people to achieve their potential in whatever they do.
We believe our continued success depends on teamwork. We know that great achievements are only possible from helping and respecting each other.
We believe in doing business in a professional and orderly manner. We take great pride in having efficient systems, standardize procedures, and being organized.
We believe in being responsible to others and to ourselves. We do what we say we are going to do, when we say we are going to do it. We believe in personal accountability and avoid blaming others when things do not turn out as planned.
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Douglas Gardens Community Mental Health Center went through an accreditation audit in March 2012 and was successfully accredited for another 3 years.
Accreditation Survey Results 2012
Douglas Gardens Community Mental Health Center of Miami Beach (DGCMHC) has strengths in many areas.
The organization received praise from its funding sources, recognizing the significant contributions that DGCMHC provides to the community and the persons served.
A dedicated and active board of directors effectively carries out the mission of the organization.
The executive director is a significant asset to the organization. Board members, funding sources, and staff members universally recognize the significant contributions that he provides to the organization, community, and persons served as evidenced by his active participation in advocacy and educational activities to promote the need for funding for mental health services and the elimination of stigma.
The staff members are challenged and grow within the organization. It is evident that the organization believes in sharing information and using open lines of communication, and it values input from all staff members who are considered as part of the team.
The organization has recently severed its affiliation with the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged, Inc. The process was not easy; however, the strong leadership and determination of the management allowed the development of systems and new departments necessary for operations. The decision also resulted in a financial challenge that was overcome in spite of the impact of the recession on the funding opportunities.
The organization has moved its administrative offices and the outpatient program to a new facility designed for the services provided.
DGCMHC is information driven, using information about its environment, services, and the persons served to continually monitor programs.
Staff members are cross trained to do their jobs and to fill in where there are needs, ensuring the continuity of case for the persons served.
Staff members of DGCMHC take pride in their strong, well-organized programs. The staff is competent, motivated, responsive, passionate, and enthusiastic about the services delivered.
The persons served expressed satisfaction with services and stated that their needs are being met.
The organization is held in very high regard by resource people in the community.
DGCMHC has gone to great lengths to ensure that persons served in the employment services are viewed and included as peers by their coworkers and employers. The organization is held in high regard by community employers.
DGCMHC provides a safe, therapeutic, and welcoming environments.
Throughout the organization, the sense of team is strong and evident in the ways in which staff members interact, communicate, and relate to one another.
Program management is a particular area of strength within the organizational structure. Each manager’s breadth of knowledge and ability to apply skills effectively directly enhance the quality of services provided.
Staff members are bilingual, and this promotes the mission of cultural diversity throughout the organization.
The availability of medical staff has enhances the services for the person served.
Crisis and outpatient services provide both a professional admission process and intervention for crisis situations. This results in significant preemptive measures for reducing unnecessary impatient hospitalizations.
The organization demonstrates an excellent ability in hiring and retaining highly competent and caring staff members to provide employment-related services. It is evident that staff members are very committed to meeting the diverse needs of the persons served and they are willing to put forth personal efforts above and beyond what is required.
DGCMHC case managers and peer counselors demonstrate a commitment to the organization’s values. They are enthusiastic, creative in seeking solutions, and open to feedback, and they enjoy their jobs and being with persons served.
The persons served speak with pride regarding their accomplishments and credit the treatment received for helping them improve the quality of their lives.
Staff members report feeling supported and that their input is encouraged. They state DGCMHC is a wonderful organization to work for and that they have available active supervisory staff.
The organization demonstrates a commitment to recovery as shown through the active employment of peer counselors.
Community housing residences blend into their neighborhoods and provide a pleasing and comfortable environment that integrates the persons served into the community.
Executive Director: Daniel Brady, PhD
Daniel Brady has been an active participant in Miami-Dade County’s efforts to meet the needs of the frail older adults, the mentally ill and homeless populations for over a 30-year span. During that period of time he had initially served as the Executive Director of the Dade County Mental Health Board and since 1980 as the Executive Director of the Douglas Gardens Community Mental Health Center, an affiliate of the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged until July1, 2011. During his tenure the Center developed a full range of community mental health services for the Miami Beach Community and implemented a regional “Geriatric Residential and Treatment System (GRTS)” for mentally ill older adults. This project has been consistently able to demonstrate the ability to maintain seriously and persistently mental ill individuals in the community. As part of Dr. Brady’s responsibility as a member of the Miami Jewish Home Senior Management he also had oversight and development responsibility for a variety of home and community based services for the elderly including: Channeling (a highly successful Nursing Home Diversion Program), PACE (Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly), adult day care and limited home care. Since 1997, in addition to his duties as the ED for the CMHC, he had served as an Executive Director for Community Services of the Miami Jewish Home, one of the southeast’s premier elderly service providers.
Throughout his career Dr. Brady has served on a wide variety of community organizations of both a local, statewide and national basis. He has served on the Board of Directors of several local provider groups, the Florida Council for Community Mental Health and the National PACE Association. In addition Dr. Brady had served on the Executive Board of the South Florida Council of Boy Scouts of American and is active in several environmental groups in Miami Dade County.
Dr. Daniel Brady has a BSW and MSW from Florida State University, a MBA from Florida International University and a Ph.D. from Barry University. He has maintained his academic interests and currently serves as an adjunct professor at Florida International University School of Social Work, Barry University School of Social Work and the University of Miami, School of Medicine.
The Center’s Senior Management team has an average of over 15 years of experience in Miami Dade County’s State supported system of behavioral health care. The Executive Director has been with the Center since its opening and the Center staff leadership includes a highly competent group of both clinical and business leaders.
