DHS: Illinois Department of Human Services - Rod R. Blagojevich,
Governor, Carol L. Adams, Ph.D., Secretary
<http://www.dhs.state.il.us/includes/images/dhsHeaderPrint.gif>

DHS Announces State-of-the-Art Technological Advancement to provide
Mental Health services for deaf persons


Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary (DHS) Linda Reneé Baker
today announced a technological partnership that improves mental health
services for deaf and hard of hearing persons in Illinois. The
collaborative effort involving the Illinois Department of Human Services
(DHS) Office of Mental Health and mental health providers in Chicago and
Springfield will allow doctors and patients to communicate via
videoconference.

"Today's technological advances are making it possible for the state to
reach more people with expanded and improved services," said Baker. "The
telepsychiatry services for deaf and hard of hearing persons can bring a
doctor in Chicago together with a client in central Illinois. It's
another example of using available resources to maximize state
services."

The announcement was made today during a "digital ribbon cutting" at
McFarland Mental Health Center in Springfield. It marked the first time
a doctor, specializing in services for deaf and hard of hearing persons
communicated with a patient in another location. Joining the DHS Office
of Mental Health in the demonstration were the Illinois Masonic Medical
Center's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program and the Mental Health Centers
of Illinois.

"The is exciting because it marks the first in a succession of
advancements in making human services accessible to all Illinoisans,"
said Baker. "Illinois is one of the first states in the nation to
provide sophisticated mental health services for deaf and hard of
hearing persons in areas where they otherwise would not be available."

There are an estimated 214,000 deaf or hard of hearing persons in
Illinois who suffer from mental illness. DHS has worked closely with
advocate groups to expand services for this population.

Under the new program, patients will receive a psychiatric evaluation
and consultation from Dorothea L. De Gutis, M.D., who has many years of
experience in providing treatment to people who are deaf or hard of
hearing. From her office in Chicago, Dr. De Gutis will use sign language
to consult with patients in central Illinois using telepsychiatry.
Telepsychiatry is the use of videoconference technology to provide
psychiatric services from a distance.

Telepsychiatry service has already has already proven to be successful
for deaf consumers in the Metropolitan Chicago area. Although the
downstate services will initially be provided in the Springfield area,
plans are underway to duplicate services throughout the state.


Steve Hamerdinger
_________________________________
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all
progress depends on the unreasonable man."

--George Bernard Shaw





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