Suzanne Steiner; Walt Steiner; Gillian Galen, PsyD)
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – (March 22, 2022) In an effort to provide local mental healthcare providers with access to Dialectical Behavior Therapy training and address the growing needs of our community, the Walt and Suzanne Steiner Foundation agreed to match donations made to a local non-profit organization, Youth Emotional Support (YES) in the amount of $25,000, which Halifax Health has committed to raising through leveraging local partnerships.
Following the unexpected loss of their daughter, Port Orange Fire Department Division Chief of Operations, Joe Meeske and his wife, Rose Meeske, have become advocates for spreading awareness about mental health and working to expand the current offering of services in our community, for both children and adults. The Youth Emotional Support (YES) Foundation was born out of this commitment to getting other families the help they need and connecting them with the appropriate resources.
To address the growing need for mental health services in Volusia County, Halifax Health hosted a series of collaborative meetings that brought together community members, stakeholders and healthcare professionals and physicians, highlighting the importance of expanding local resources and identifying high risk groups.
Largely focused on an emerging modality, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, has been shown to effectively treat patients with a variety of diagnoses, including borderline personality disorder and suicidality by providing a structured step-by-step program that involves not just the patient, but their families as well, giving them the tools needed to live more fulfilling, hopeful and purposeful lives.
Industry-leading practitioners from McLean Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, Blaise Aguirre, MD and Gillian Galen, PsyD orchestrated a series of open forum discussions with Halifax Health leadership, medical staff and stakeholders to develop a strategic plan for equipping local mental healthcare providers with this specific tool set and making this treatment plan available to those in need.
Recognized as one of the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ in the United States by IBM Watson Health™, Halifax Health serves Volusia and Flagler counties, providing a continuum of healthcare services through a network of organizations including a tertiary hospital, two community hospitals, an urgent care, psychiatric services, a cancer treatment center with five outreach locations, the area’s largest hospice, a center for inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, primary care walk-in clinics, a clinic specializing in women’s health, a pediatric care community clinic, three children’s medical practices, a home healthcare agency, and an exclusive provider organization. Halifax Health offers the area’s only Level II Trauma Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, Center for Transplant Services, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Emergency Department, Child and Adolescent Behavioral Services, complete Neurosurgical Services, OB Emergency Department and Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for babies born earlier than 28 weeks.
For more information, visit halifaxhealth.org.
