NO WRONG DOOR, TRANSFORMING SERVICE, CHANGING LIVES

Governor Mary Fallin
State of Oklahoma

Governor Fallin: I am so excited as Governor of the State of Oklahoma to have the No Wrong Door system being developed by our state and certainly by all the different agencies that are involved.  I am a very, very proud of how the Department of Human Services and various agencies that take care of those that are seniors or may be disabled or have some type of special need are bringing together a system of delivery of care that will help citizens be able to find the services they need much easier, much quicker, without having to run from place to place, agency to agency, and just basically streamlined the way we deliver care to people who have needs.

Director Ed Lake
Oklahoma Department of Human Services



Ed Lake: The No Wrong Door system is a perfect fit for the Department of Human Services.  Our mission is to improve the quality of life of vulnerable Oklahomans, to help them lead as independent a life as they can.  That means staying in their own homes if they can, being protected, or in the community in which they live.  I think over the years we have learned that we can help people in their own homes and communities in many ways we never thought we could in the past.  This is just one more resource to speed that service delivery system along.

Lance Robertson
Director of Aging Services
Oklahoma Department of Human Services


Lance Robertson: Of course, with Aging Services, we are most excited because we have a growing number of citizens who continue to age.  We have almost 730,000 Oklahomans who are 60 and older now.  That number, obviously, like for all states and all countries, that number will continue to grow.  And, of course, with that, what we want to try and do and what we will do through this initiative is create a means by which these older adults and/or their family members and caregivers can find information and more readily access services.

JoAnne Goin
Director of Developmental Disabilities Services
Oklahoma Department of Human Services



JoAnne Goin: Developmental Disability Services is excited to be one of the partners in the No Wrong Door project.  The No Wrong Door project will allow us to further outreach to the many unserved people with intellectual developmental disabilities in Oklahoma.During the lean years of state government, partnerships are even more important than they may have been in the past.  Together we can accomplish things that we could not accomplish within our individual agencies.

Director Jjoe Cordova
Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services



Joe Cordova: The Department of Rehabilitation Services has a broad range of services that would benefit a person with a disability of any age, particularly those that are aging with a  disability.  So we would like to be able to offer these services to let the public know of the availability of the services, regardless of what door they came through.

Nico gomez, CEO
Oklahoma Health Care Authority

Nico Gomez: At the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, where we administer the SoonerCare program, we are very proud of being part of the program, a system that really honors and takes care of our seniors and our individuals with disabilities.  Frankly, I cherish that opportunity to make sure that people have access to quality health care, no matter where they are in the system.  So programs like Money Follows the Person are very important programs for us because it keeps people in the community where they want to live and they can be productive and live healthy lives.  So we love community-based programs and systems that really support the person as an individual.  We meet their health care needs where they are.


Commissioner Terri White
Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

Terri White: We know that people with mental illness and addiction die 25 years younger than the general population.  The reasons for that are often physical health issues.  Persons  with untreated mental illness and addiction are more likely to develop heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other physical health issues.  At the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, we have truly integrated mental health care with primary care and other health care needs.  The No Wrong Door initiative is an extension of that opportunity to make sure, for older Oklahomans, all of their health care needs are met, including brain health, in terms of mental illness, and addiction, as well as physical health care.

Gail Wettstein
Director of Adult Protective Services
Oklahoma Department of Human Services



Gail Wettstein: What's exciting about the No Wrong Door process is we know from our own lives that when we are in crisis, or someone that we love is in crisis, it is harder to take in the information; it is harder to figure out what it is we need.  And so with the No Wrong Door, we know that, with one call, we will let that person connect to the help that they need, and we know that they won't have slipped through our safety net.


Dr. Terry Cline
Commissioner of Health
Cabinet Secretary of Health and Human Services

Terry Cline: We have incredible services in the state of Oklahoma.  We have pockets of excellence, great providers doing fantastic work meeting the needs of the people.  This is an exciting opportunity for Oklahoma.  I know the Department of Human Services in particular has worked very hard to pull this together.  I think that it will make the world a better place,  it will make Oklahoma a better place, and certainly will make the lives of the people in our state much, much better.



Governor Fallin: I am very, very proud of how all of our agencies are coming together to develop a system of care, a delivery of services that is more efficient, more effective, for our Oklahoma citizens and something that we can be very, very proud of.