Assertive Community Treatment

Assertive Community Treatment at WVU’s Chestnut Ridge Center delivers a full range of services to people who have been diagnosed with a severe and recurrent mental illness.

ACT’s goal is to give participants sufficient community care and support to help them have a life that is not dominated by their mental illness. To be admitted to the ACT program, the person must be a Medicaid recipient.

For inpatient psychiatric treatment, a person needs to have experienced one of the following:

Three or more hospitalizations in a psychiatric inpatient unit or psychiatric hospital in the past 12 months OR
Five or more hospitalizations in a psychiatric inpatient unit, psychiatric hospital, or crisis stabilization program in the past 24 months OR
180 days total length of a stay in a psychiatric inpatient unit or psychiatric hospital within the past 12 months

ACT services may be used for other people who show medical necessity, such as:

people who are homeless and who have a severe and persistent mental illness
people with a mental illness who have frequent contact with law enforcement or the criminal justice system
people with concurrent mental illness and chemical addiction who require consistent monitoring

How does ACT help?

We develop a treatment plan that reflects personal needs and goals.
We help the individual remain in the community of his/her choice.
We provide professional psychiatric evaluation and counseling.
We help with housing, healthcare, and other basic needs.
We work to improve overall quality of life by providing support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How does ACT work?
ACT uses a team approach.

Psychiatrists, nurses, mental health professionals, employment specialists, and substance-abuse specialists, join together on ACT teams to give consumers ongoing, individualized care.

Services are provided where they are needed.

Consumers receive ACT services in their homes, where they work, and in other settings in the community where problems occur or where support is needed.

We provide personalized care.

ACT teams provide an array of services, working with a smaller ratio of consumer to staff.

We give unlimited support . . .

ACT teams give individuals the services and support they need for as long as they need them.

and continuous, flexible care.

Several ACT team members work regularly with each person, fitting their schedules around that person’s needs.

ACT services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Someone is always available to handle emergencies.