As previously mentioned, I have been attempting to get a transfer to a new SMI (seriously mentally ill) clinic. With a great deal of extreme exasperation, constant failures of communication and intermittent anxiety I was finally able to get the transfer through, and get an intake scheduled with the new clinic. (It has a similar name to the the company that runs the Autism Clinic I go to, so there was a bit of confusion on my end until Therapist went “…um, that’s a different company.” Me: Welp.)
This was supposed to be a “warm handoff” where a caseworker from the old clinic takes you to the new clinic–though I did not actually have much connection or rapport with my previous clinic (due to their incompetence). Random Caseworker did not call beforehand to make arrangements to drive me over to the clinic. Therefore, I wasn’t sure how any of this was going to work, and thought they weren’t doing the “warm handoff” after all. So I ended up riding a bike down to the new clinic. I usually start out early because of Anxiety About Being Late, so I got there around 10-ish.
This means I am in time to get a phone message from Random Caseworker from The Old Clinic, asking me to call back. So I do, let him know I’m already at the New Clinic, and that he should be here. (I should add here that I probably wouldn’t have wanted to be in a car with Random Caseworker to begin with. The silence would have been Deafening and I would not have been in a pleasant mood by the time I arrived.)
The Random Caseworker arrives and we eventually go in to see the prescriber/nurse practitioner. I am slightly stressed, because I need to make arrangements for a caseworker to visit for an upcoming appointment with my therapist from the autism clinic. (I am filling out annual paperwork/treatment plan stuff.) I also found out that Old Clinic failed to send over the paperwork concerning my Autism diagnosis. (That is, the actual diagnosis and the screening information from Autism Clinic.)
Nurse Practitioner: Is your case manager here?
Me: I don’t have a case manager, he’s just a random case manager they sent.
Nurse Practitioner: “…”
Anyway, we talk, and the Nurse Practitioner confirms that Random Caseworker knows absolutely nothing about my case, and does not in fact know me…so she dismisses him. Like, “Let’s have Mr. Caseworker go back to his duties.” (paraphrase.) I was kind of amused by this!
I get asked the Usual Questions, I explain about needing to have a caseworker on hand when I do the treatment plan, and so on. The nurse practitioner went to copy out my Autism Diagnosis Stuff and I am slightly optimistic that the Autism situation will be taken into account, or at least remain with my other mental health documentation instead of magically disappearing. (My Autism diagnosis was mentioned along with the Bipolar in a letter disability accommodation department of the city bus–you need an id card to use the disability bus passes.)
I am hoping I have a better experience with New Clinic than I did with Old Clinic. (On first meeting, the people I’ve met so far seem nice, but time will tell.) It’s closer, and easier to get to than the Old Clinic. (The company that runs the Old Clinic used to be at the location the New Clinic is currently at. Yes, I somewhat picked the New Clinic because it’s closer, in addition to being mildly confused concerning the similarly-named but different companies.)
Leave a comment