Skyland Trail named 2009 Heroes in the Fight Recipient by MHA of Georgia

ATLANTA — Mental Health America of Georgia has named Skyland Trail as the 2009 Heroes in the Fight award recipient.  The nationally acclaimed mental health treatment center’s clinical team was honored for its ‘Recovery Tracks’ and the organization’s primary care clinic.

Heroes in the Fight is being implemented in partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Mental Health America advocacy organizations in participating mental health communities across the United States.  The program celebrates dignity, courage, hope, and recovery in the ongoing treatment of persons with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) by recognizing ‘Heroes’ who provide care and support for persons with SPMI and their families.

Skyland Trail received the prestigious honor for its innovative ‘recovery communities’ and its on-site primary care clinic.  Skyland Trail’s five recovery communities were created by its clinical staff in conjunction with its expert National Advisory Board.  Under this model of care, Skyland Trail assigns each client to a community of 10 to 15 people with similar diagnoses.  This approach allows clients to focus on the most important aspects of their recovery processes.  The primary care clinic is helping to bridge the gap between mental and primary health care, an issue that has plagued Americans with mental illness for decades.  Both programs are wholly unique to the Atlanta community.