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Though SummitQuest Academy has had its share of problems in the last year and half, changes are being made to this Ephrata-based behavioral health facility. Confusion surrounding restraint policies caused a ripple effect into the community and the Ephrata Police Department after a slew of client elopements, or "walkaways," in the last year and a half. Public information meetings between officials began in July with the goal of solving the problems at hand and to seek guidance and clarification from government officials. Now, when a client elopes from the nonsecure facility, it is considered "imminent danger" and staff are permitted to use physical restraint if necessary. The recent clarification came months after SummitQuest reached a high point of 19 police calls to the facility for elopements in the month of July alone. Since officials began addressing the problem, the number has begun a steady decrease with only six in August, four in September and three in October. Richard Gold, deputy secretary of the Officer of Children, Youth and Families contacted officials from the Department of Health and Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to discuss a plan for the elopement problem after the Sept. 5 meeting held in Akron Borough Hall. "It was made clear (from them) with one voice to SummitQuest– they're right to stop a child from leaving the facility," Gold said to the panel of officials and community residents who met at the Wednesday, Nov. 7 meeting, later adding, "In fairness to SummitQuest, they were (previously) given mixed messages from the state government." Since February 2006, the amount of police calls had been draining police services due to a relatively new government mandate that restricts residential behavioral facilities, like SummitQuest, from restraining clients unless the client displays "imminent danger," or ongoing, aggressive behavior toward himself or others. This evidently had led to the dramatic increase in the number of clients who elope. Lt. Tom Shumaker, Ephrata Police acting chief said SummitQuest has been responsible for 1.4 percent of the department's total call volume with 186 radio calls for various reasons. Runaways in 2007 totaled 53 through Oct. 30. "In 2006, the numbers changed, in my opinion, significantly," said Shumaker. "It jumped from 18 to 48 (elopements) in a 10-month period." Since government officials have stepped in to correct the problem, Steve Palmer, SummitQuest administrator said he thinks the facility is on the "right track," though their goal of having no elopements has not been reached yet. "We feel the impact has been positive," said Palmer. "We feel confident in the services we are offering. They (officials) helped reassure things we were unclear about. Our goal is zero and we will do what we can to get to that goal." Gold said when his staff first conducted client interviews at SummitQuest, 87 percent of the children were under the impression that they could do what they want because staff could not touch them. "In the last two weeks, they're saying 'something is happening, it's clear we can't leave,'" Gold said. The strides taken to reduce the elopements and various other police calls to the facility include unannounced weekly visits from the Office of Children, Youth and Families that began in September, free state of the art training, staff scheduling changes and monthly visits with the Office of Children, Youth and Families, Department of Health and Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services with SummitQuest. "Part of every monthly meeting is this team walking around the whole campus, getting a feel from staff and kids whether they're changing the cultural dynamic of who's in charge," said Gold. "We made very clear in meeting with SummitQuest that these children and youth should not be a danger to the community and should not just think they can come and go freely." SummitQuest's clientele has also decreased from 89 to 79 residents since September. Dave Berk, clinical director, said two of the three individuals who repeatedly eloped from the facility were discharged to a higher level of care. Palmer and Berk explained that the primary reason for elopements usually stems from clients who feel frustrated in the treatment process, or have family issues. "The treatment process is difficult for these guys," Palmer said. "Those are the kinds of things we hear back from clients." Vic Richard, Ephrata Borough council member who sat in the audience, asked what specific changes in addition to what had already been said early on in the meeting, have been made at the facility. Palmer said that the biggest change is staff confidence. "That confidence piece is a big part of it. When you are questioning what you can and can't do, it creates hesitation, doubt, concern, employees fear for their job if they do something incorrectly when they're not supposed to ... just that support and clear direction now has given our staff that confidence that they now know what is expected," Palmer said. Richard also asked if the recent allegation of sexual assault involving an employee having an ongoing sexual relationship with a client had affected the boys' relationships with the staff. Berk said that it had caused "some ripples" but SummitQuest is trying to make it a "glass house" with investigative agencies, parents and residents, calling the relationship unfortunate. However, the incident has not deterred the boys from building or maintaining relationships with staff members. Gold said that the training is helping staff relate to the children and understand what makes them upset. This will give clients the option of choosing who to vent their frustrations to if they prefer not to talk with their therapist about it. "If they build a relationship with another person at SummitQuest, instead of running away out of fear, they might run to this person. It's a very effective process," Gold said. The next meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Feb. 13, 2008 at the Akron Borough Hall. Acting chief Shumaker will keep track of police calls made to the facility to monitor SummitQuest's progress. In addition, an open invitation still stands to any member of the community to tour SummitQuest academy. Anyone interested may call Steve Palmer at 859-4100.
