Train non-traditional community referral sources to identify and refer older adults in need of services who do not seek services on their own or have someone to seek help for them. Create an integrated community response system to provide mental health, health, and social services.

Outreach Model

Gatekeepers are meter readers, bank tellers, mail carriers, housing managers, paramedics, law enforcement officers, and other employees of businesses and organizations that are likely to come into contact with older adults through their everyday activities. They are trained to identify older adults who exhibit signs and symptoms of distress that indicate they may need assistance. Once identified, Gatekeepers make a referral to Elder Services where a telephone screener records and forwards the information to the interdisciplinary clinical case management program. A case management team responds with a face-to-face contact and a comprehensive assessment and evaluation. Psychiatrists and pharmacists make home visits with the teams as needed.

In 1997, the Mental Health Division was awarded a grant from CMHS to replicate the Gatekeeper model in eleven counties.

For more information, contact Julie E. Jensen, PhD

Phone: 253-756-3988, Fax: 253-756-3987
Email: jjensen@u.washington.edu 

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For more information email MentalHealth@wiche.edu