Andrew Moore (00:00)
All right. Hello and welcome back to what's actually a special episode of plays well with others. have a special guest with us today, Nathan Miller, and we're going to be taking some of these episodes in 2025 in the coming year in a slightly different direction than what you're used to. We've traditionally kind of dug into this idea of organizational leadership, business leadership, and really focused on work topics and

One of the things that I want to do in 2025 is spread the scope of the guests we have on the show and the topics we broach to focus more on community, more on people's lives and personal wellbeing in addition to the professional stuff. Because one thing we do know and one thing we can agree on is that businesses are made up of people. there's business topics that we could talk.

talk about till we're blue in the face, but ultimately if we're not focusing on the people, if we're not admitting that, you know, people are their own individuals, they're unique, they have their own challenges, their own particular thoughts and goals and hopes and dreams. And then there are people like Nathan and Volunteer Behavioral Health that are out there trying to help people. So what we want to do...

in this coming year is focus more on those people that are helping behind the scenes and trying to provide back into the community that then ultimately support some of the businesses that we're talking to on a daily basis. So like I said, we've got Nathan Miller here who's currently our, the SVP of operations at Volunteer Behavioral Health, which is a treatment center or a whole series of

mental health service providers that operates here in the middle Tennessee area, upper Cumberland, southeastern regions of Tennessee. They currently have 21 outpatient locations with three of those locations be having crisis walk-in centers, crisis stabilization centers, and detox services. And kind of what Nathan told me there.

their primary focus is to serve the underserved Medicaid population and other uninsurable individuals. And the phrase you sent me, was ages four to 94. So it's like you're trying to hit the gamut. And so Nathan here has...

Sent me over some, a dossier of his, of his experience. He's got 28 years of experience in social services and mental health with 23 of those being at volunteer behavioral health, which is at 10 years impressive. You started as a CTT case manager and then moved into counseling for individual and group services after getting your master's degree. And like I said, now you've moved into the, the SVP of operations position that

It has oversight of, you said 11 outpatient locations, operational oversight of crisis and substance use treatment recovery services, including those three main hub locations that we mentioned earlier that have the, the various other specialty services. And you also oversee the state funded criminal justice liaison program. So you've got a, a wide.

visibility and wide range of responsibility at VBHC. So I'm very excited to have you here. I appreciate you sitting down with us and talking through it.

So Nathan, you've been here with VBHC for, you said 23 years, and this is now actually the 30th anniversary in January of 2025 for VBHC. What is it that you have seen happen at VBHC that has kept you there so long? And also how has that role changed over the years?

Nathan Miller (04:08)
Well, and thank you for mentioning, Andrew, about the 30th anniversary. That's a big thing for us. Back in 1995, the merger that we had of the five groups, which were Plateau Mental Health, Comfort Mental Health, the Guidance Center.

Johnson Mental Health and HWASI Mental Health, that was a big thing for us. That was the time that TennCare was coming around. They bonded together kind of to take on the new exploits of TennCare and see what was going to happen there and actually provide a better service. You had five smaller mental health organizations that came together for as one and we're still here. Some of those individual locations providing over 60 years worth of service. So we've come along

way, you know, not just the 30 years, that's a big thing for us, but 60 years with some of our individual locations. Over the time that I've been here, I have seen the focus on client care change considerably in many different sections.

Most recently, we have went to what we call the THL program, is something the state has put out, Tennessee HealthLink program, and that program is one that kind of bonds the mental health and the physical health together.

where our services and volunteer are not only just with mental health now, but we're collaborating with the primary care physicians, we're collaborating with health departments, you know, that these folks are seeing so that our clients not only have the best mental health that they can have, but the best physical health that they can have too. We have seen and the state has seen that

People with severe and persistent mental illness usually have a life span that is about 15 to 25 years shorter than the average individual. And that's a big thing. So...

The latest and greatest thing is that THL program through the state that we've been practicing. And we've done a lot of that collaboration with those folks. It means our care managers are calling the doctor's appointments, making sure the clients are getting there, making sure they've had eye screenings, diabetes screenings, all these different things that they have to have. Children, their wellness exams, just to promote better health in general, which promotes better

mental health as a whole. Oftentimes it's a preventative type measure as well.

Andrew Moore (06:39)
On that.

Yeah, that's really interesting. And that for the Tennessee HealthLink is your focus more on the clients that you're seeing first in your facilities and directing them towards the physical health providers or are you getting intake from the physical health providers as well?

Nathan Miller (07:01)
And that's

actually going both ways. I'm glad you had to ask that because who we have coming in here, know, as our providers see them in the mental health realm, then, you know, we evaluate for those things. We do a daily living skills assessment. We do several different types of treatment plans as well. And we look at their physical health in addition to their mental health. So if there's a need for someone, say they have diabetes or they have a heart condition or they have asthma or whatever the case may be,

if our folks pick up on that, they're going to send them and help them make that referral, you know, and get to that next appointment. As well as, we have a lot of partnerships in the community with PCPs and again, health departments, state health departments, that are allowing us to work with them and when they see problems with folks or concerns, then they will refer to them to us, whether that be in an outpatient role or that being across this role.

Andrew Moore (07:59)
And presumably there's a pretty tight relationship between your patient outcomes. So if you're treating a mental health scenario or mental health issue and you have a physical health, like you said, diabetes or whatever that is, if you can address both of those in tandem, then obviously you're going to be much better positioned to have that desirable patient outcome, right?

Nathan Miller (08:25)
That's correct.

We've seen so many success stories since the THL program has come around. When I started, you we were talking about 23 years ago, when I started, don't see it, those folks that I was seeing back then, those clients that were coming in at that point, they had a lot of...

unhealthy habits, I guess I'd say, and they're no longer with us. So, you know, now we can see folks that are benefiting from this THL program, you know, and seeing what's happening and the good things that are coming out. And like you said, outcomes are tied to that. There's always revenue tied to that for the state as well and for insurance companies. So another thing that we've seen, you know, over those years is the movement of services that from long term, you

inpatient mental health services, say at state hospital where someone might live for months or years, to a more outpatient situation. And that's kind what we're going to as well. The THL program fits into that. Again, that's community-based and that's kind of what volunteer is, is community-based mental health.

Andrew Moore (09:35)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, that's a very interesting approach. know.

In my past, I've had conversations with folks that are, that are working in these, this treatment centers, whether they be independent or state funded. And a lot of what they describe as being the challenge is kind of interacting with those prior authorizations, the value-based care system, and trying to work with these, these large insurers and payers that don't want to pay for a significant drawn out inpatient program. So having.

that outpatient approach, think sounds like that's a big benefit to being able to provide care,

Nathan Miller (10:18)
It is. I think it has given back a lot of people a better quality of life over the years as well. You know, where they might have been in an institution of some sort for long term, now they have the ability to at least attempt to be on their own or to be more involved in the community. We have a lot of folks that have, over the years, came from the state hospitals that, know, are success stories. You know, are they necessarily

as high functioning and as productive as some folks would say, maybe not, but you know they're living a better quality of life than they were.

community mental health centers such as ours and our agency, you know, makes that happen for them, helps them with that by doing individualized treatment plans. So when we have a person come in, a client come in, whether that's new or that's an existing client, we will work with them on their individualized treatment plans, which means what they want to work on. So we meet them, you know, at their needs and their desires at that time. So that is

giving the client more of a stake in their treatment or in their recovery. And they're more likely to work with it. So we've seen a lot of success with that individualized treatment plan, which is...

You know, on track with all of our providers, you know, if you receive medication management, therapy, care management, whatever the services are or service you're receiving, those are all tied together. So all of your team, so to speak, sees that treatment plan and everyone on that works together to make good things happen for the clock.

Andrew Moore (12:07)
And you just mentioned what you've listed as your core services, medication management, individual and group therapy and care management. It sounds like what you're doing is kind of trying to.

to formulate a foundation on which you can build the rest of that treatment plan. So, you know, if somebody's coming in with, in a crisis, you obviously need to stabilize them. You need to get them to a position where they can then start having those longer term conversations. And maybe that's even inclusive of the physical care as well. Getting them to a primary care provider and getting them on a schedule there as well.

Nathan Miller (12:49)
you

And I'm glad you said that because you mentioned the crisis piece there. We do offer crisis services at volunteer, whether they're mobile crisis or they're one of our three walk-in centers. The mobile crisis covers the larger part of the area that we cover, which like you said is Middle Tennessee, Upper Cumberland and Southeast Tennessee, where we have folks that go out into the ERs, they go out into homes, they go to doctor's offices, things like that when there's an emergency and someone needs them. So that is

an avenue that people can come into our treatment services through. And we do try to get them stabilized first because if you're not stabilized, then you're not going to be able to work with the therapist or the medication management at that time to build those realistic goals that you need to build.

Andrew Moore (13:39)
Yeah. The, the mobile crisis services are those like the 72 hour holds or those type of wellness type calls.

Nathan Miller (13:48)
They can be. Our folks can write the 6404s, which are involuntary committals, but they can also refer to our CSU units as well, the crisis Stabilization units that we have at our three major hubs, which are Cookville, Murfreesboro, and Chattanooga, which is a voluntary stay. So we always try to take the least restrictive approach. So...

If that means an outpatient appointment as well, we'll do everything from the outpatient appointment gamut all the way up to the other end of the spectrum, which if it requires an involuntary committal, we will do that. But we'd like to try to keep people in the community first if we can.

Andrew Moore (14:30)
Yeah, that makes sense. How, you know, I read a lot online about, you know, mental health trends and the United States mental health crisis, especially post COVID. How has your business changed or how have your, has your patient base changed since the pandemic?

Nathan Miller (14:53)
Well, to start with, during the pandemic, we saw a huge influx of people, a huge influx of clients. For a lot of anxiety, a lot of depression, of course, our whole world was turned upside down. No one was allowed to leave their home, they had to wear a mask. It was not business as usual. So we saw a huge influx of people, but it also...

in its own right allowed us to see the changes in technology that we were able to use. Volunteer as a whole had a really good base. We had dabbled in telehealth for years, you know, because of shortage of providers for years, mental health providers, whether it be psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, counseling, those type of things, and there's still a great shortage on those. But when the pandemic hit, we were able to adjust to that really quickly because of the really excellent

IT team that we have and our CEO said hey we've got to we've got to adjust to this and pivot really quickly so we were in a really good spot technology-wise to send all of our workers home.

and they worked remotely with laptops, with desktops, excuse me, we did not miss or cancel any appointments during that swap over or that time. We went completely from 90 % in office visits to 100 % either video or telephonic mode. And...

We have kind of still, you know, still have some of that that we're using. You know, we never let the pendulum swing all the way back to where it was. We have continued to use increased telehealth services for those in the community. We found through COVID that since we did have that influx of large influx of people, they were in all types of areas. They weren't only in urban areas and, you know, two miles from our center, so to speak, they were, you know, 30 miles out in

in the rural area where they would have to drive. Well, since we serve a lot of the underprivileged and the underserved population, they may not have those resources to get to a center.

you know, physically. So we have adopted that telehealth model a little bit more on a larger scale than we had before, you know, prior to COVID. And we're still using that to a certain extent. So that's with individual appointments, such as psychiatry with medication management. We also use it with the therapy a lot more than we used to. And we also have incorporated some groups into that too with co-occurring groups, which is substance abuse.

abuse

and mental health combined. Those folks that are suffering from those are living with those issues. As well as anxiety and depression groups and peer support groups.

COVID really, in as many ways as it hurt us, you know, and hurt our society, I think it opened the eyes of folks like us to what we could do technology-wise to make things happen so that more people are able to access treatment than ever before, which has the treatment services and the numbers have not really went down that significant since COVID.

Andrew Moore (18:16)
Do you see people that say during, during COVID we had what I call forced adoption. You know, we all went home and yet you just got to figure it out. You've got to suddenly work on zoom. You've got to do all of these things and then we didn't have a choice, but now post pandemic, have, we have options. Are you seeing more people?

that were on a telehealth plan come back into facilities or are you seeing them kind of stay telehealth and then potentially getting more patients because of that capability?

Nathan Miller (18:52)
We are, we continue to get more patients that take advantage of the telehealth, you know. We also have...

Probably, I'm gonna say, we were just talking about this a few days ago, somewhere around 65%, maybe 70 of the clots return to the center. That may vary a little center by center, depending on what kind of area they're in, more urban or rural. But we've had a pretty good percentage of people that actually wanted to return to the building and be seen in person, which that's fine, we welcome that. We want to also, when we offer those telehealth services,

We want to also make sure that we offer them the in-person services as well, or telephonic if that's all they have. We want to, again, meet that client where they're at, give them the best option to continue to receive treatment, and that's often decided between the provider that we have and the client themselves. That's kind of an agreement that they come to as the best way to be seen.

Andrew Moore (19:58)
I wonder too.

how, what your experience has been on access. So I know here when, when we started going remote for, for grade schools and things of that nature, we had a big problem with people having access to, to internet and connectivity. And so a lot of the ways that we were approaching that was with these, satellites, satellite centers. Hey, come upload your homework by parking in this parking lot. And here's the wifi information. Did you, did you,

Or do you still have those challenges and how do you approach those when the patient doesn't have internet access or something similar?

Nathan Miller (20:38)
Well, each case of course is individual and it's handled differently. I will say that during COVID we went through a little bit of several different kind of changes. Before we actually sent everybody home, we had a few people actually in the office and we would put cell phones outside of the door, in a little box out there that we had. And they were actually able to return to their car and use that cell phone.

to do their visit to the provider on the inside or their provider at home. We also, in addition to the telehealth equipment that we have and some of the programs that we run, the platforms, we also are able to do some FaceTime, you know, with folks, just individual phones and providers. So that has been a big relief and as, you know, and as much as well because, you know, most people have a cell phone of some type these days.

Andrew Moore (21:26)
Yeah, yeah.

Nathan Miller (21:36)
And like I said, if they can't do the video, if they can't get to us and they can't do the video, then that last resort would be a telephonic visit, which, you know, wouldn't require the video or the Wi-Fi or anything else.

Andrew Moore (21:50)
It's better than nothing, I gather that's probably the last option, right?

Nathan Miller (21:55)
it

is and we use that very limited. That is kind of the exception, not necessarily rural.

Andrew Moore (22:01)
Sure, Well, I think we've covered the core and the additional services segment pretty well, but you listed a lot of specialty programs here, and you talk about criminal justice liaisons, juvenile justice reform, school-based behavioral health liaisons. You guys are doing a ton that's...

at least in my ignorant perspective, maybe out of the box. So can you tell me a little bit about what those programs are and how you're engaging the broader community?

Nathan Miller (22:37)
Most of those programs are some of our grant programs and they are specialty programs. They're grants either state or federal grants that come through. So one of the governor's big initiatives over the last few years has been to put mental health in all of our schools.

While we're not quite there with all of our schools at this point, volunteer, I believe, at this point has somewhere upwards of 80 positions in schools across the state. And that's not just necessarily in that limited coverage area that we have, you know, the southeast and middle and upper Cumberland. Those are actually some of them in the western parts of Tennessee as well that we don't officially cover as an agency.

That has been a big move that is really good toward prevention. I'll say that that's one of the programs that think we have that has the opportunity sometimes to break or end a cycle of family issues.

you know, by working with the children. We all at an early age and getting them started and on the right track. We also have the RIP program, the Regional Intervention Prevention Program. And that is a program that works with children and their young children and their families. Okay. The Juvenile Justice Reform Program, that is one that goes into the court.

and receives court referrals for for you know, juveniles that are maybe in trouble, whether it be absenteeism from school or minor offenses that they've committed vandalism theft, these type things, you know, at least on a repeat basis to where they are, you know, connected by the judge and the YSO and the court to the child and the family. And that person, that team will send someone into the home, they'll send a therapist, they'll send a care manager. That's

versed with peer recovery. So that's actually somebody who has kind of been in that position before, you know, an adult that has worked, you know, with our services before and that family wise. So, and they'll make sure that not only those things are met and those items that are working with them, but that the outpatient appointments, if they're necessary, are also kept as well. You know, medication management and those type things.

We also have the criminal justice liaison program. Like you said earlier, I've been in charge of that for the last couple of years. I think I've got eight of those full time.

And what they'll do is they'll work with the court system and they'll work with the corrections officers in the county jails that they visit. And they will find people who are in need of mental health treatment. And upon their release, they will start setting them up with outpatient services. They'll start seeing them in the jail before the release, and then they'll transition them out into outpatient services or detox services or substance use treatment recovery, whatever their need is.

So in hopes of keeping them from returning to jail. So we have got a lot of different programs, and those are just a few. We've got a lot of those type programs that are out there that are just wonderful. I do feel like they're preventative in the long run.

Andrew Moore (25:50)
Right.

Nathan Miller (26:07)
Because when you look at it, like I said, they're keeping you from returning to jail. They're keeping families from continuing a cycle. And they're also improving the lives of the children and the families that are already having issues.

Andrew Moore (26:21)
I think that's an interesting.

I don't want to say segue, but I did, was digging around on your website and I found one of, I believe it was a core belief. It was a quote that was listed here that says, we believe that mental illness, addiction and co-occurring disorders are preventable and early detection is important. And so as I was reading through and listening to you talk, I was very curious about the prevention aspect and it sounds like, and I'd love to hear more, but it sounds like the, approach is to get these liaisons or these

in as many different areas that you can so that you have that early warning system, you have that ability to interface with somebody as a preventative measure as opposed to in those crisis situations.

Nathan Miller (27:12)
And in addition to the ones that I listed, we also have a newer program that we call behavioral health liaisons, which they are, as you said, you know, it's a community kind of, you know, approach to it, where we're looking for those folks at hospitals, doctors offices, health departments.

anywhere in the community that we can put someone, that's what we're doing with those VHLs. And those are kind of to be proactive, you know, so that things don't get any worse. And we do get those referrals and those people do get the help they need. I will mention another one that is really good. We've got some grant money from that. We've had that for the last few years, is the co-responder programs.

where we have mental health clinicians that are embedded with police departments, sheriff's offices, in the middle Tennessee area that ride along with those officers. And if there's a mental health call, they respond to it with them. they will either divert.

that client to outpatient, when they see them or that person, individual on the street, they'll either divert them to an outpatient appointment or the CSU. Or again, if the highest level of care is needed such as a committal, they'll do that. But again, our goal is to get everybody the help on the outside in the community first. But.

The co-responders have been able to divert hundreds of folks away from an actual hospital stay just by being there to help. It also helps with law enforcement. It helps with their jobs. Law enforcement these days are seeing tons of mental health calls.

for various reasons and to various degrees, from someone who might be just having an argument. They're going through a divorce, they're having some kind of domestic violence thing. There's some mental health issues involved to someone who is actually suicidal. So they're spending more money, they're taking up more space for medications and housing folks in the jail who do not necessarily need to be incarcerated at this point.

because they have a mental illness. But sometimes there's no other diversion road for them to go down.

Andrew Moore (29:38)
Yeah, that's a fascinating program and topic. I am interested in your experience with these folks that are riding along with law enforcement. they getting, call it cross training? Or is the law enforcement officer kind of running this scene and saying, Hey, I need support from you now. Or are they kind of hand in hand? How does that relationship work?

Nathan Miller (30:05)
No,

usually the officer will take control of the scene. Our person usually doesn't get out until they know that it's safe, it's cleared, it's been secured. And then our person gets out. They do wear bulletproof vests that have been fitted for them.

We have found most of our agencies really, really love this program that we work with because it helps them. Because they've kind of come to a point where law enforcement and mental health, while they seem to see the same people a lot of times, their training is very limited in it. So they're welcoming the help that they're getting.

especially here in the Murfreesboro area, that's been a big case with the Murfreesboro Police Department.

Andrew Moore (30:55)
Yeah, it's great to hear that of the success stories, you you hear a lot about programs like that and it's not always cast in the best light, but I think 100 % it makes sense that you would need that support from a law enforcement standpoint and from a, from a clinical standpoint, you want to have that interaction be, I think usually you said it on the outside.

it's probably very unreasonable to try to treat everyone in a inpatient type scenario. And if you can catch that sooner or before you get to that eventuality, much better.

So if someone needs access to your services, I know we've talked about a lot of these referral pathways, but if an individual needs access, where would they start?

Nathan Miller (31:52)
Well, they would start by calling our centralized access line that is located on our website. That is a Monday through Friday, 8 to 5 central call. And what happens there is when a person calls in, they can be...

have their case opened with us. They can get an assessment over the phone or by video, usually within an hour or so. That's kind what we shoot for. To get them with either the medication provider, well, let me back up. The therapist will come first.

which they will tell their story and what's going on and get the presenting problems, you know, all that good information to them first. That will open the case, which will open the gate then for a care manager to speak with them as well as the med provider, if that's a necessary option, you know, for that person, if that's what they're wanting. Sometimes folks just want to start with therapy, which is great.

you know, everybody has is different and will start different places. You can also visit, you know, one of our local locations, you know, which was 21 of them across the state. They're all listed on our website. You can walk in the front door and say, hey, I'd like to have my case open. I'm having this issue. Can you get me some help?

you know, like get my case open. So that's another way. And then, you know, the process option route is another way. You know, you can walk into any of our walk-in centers and get your, um, get your case open, speak with somebody and still do the outpatient route. You know, they'll refer you to the outpatient to help you get that appointment. That again, is one of those BHL jobs, you know, in duties that's, uh, somebody's assigned to those units that will help you do that. Just because you walk into one of our walk-in centers, you know, those are 24 seven.

There's always somebody there, they're always open. Just because you walk into one of them and ask for help doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be staying with us. You can get outpatient appointments from that as well. There's also, I will say this, for those people that are looking for just the outpatient services,

You may not have to have insurance. I know there's a big thing out there where if you don't have insurance, then you can't be seen. You can't receive treatment. That's not necessarily true. There are some funding routes that can be taken there. So if you're looking for help and you take any of these avenues, you don't have insurance. There's something called behavioral health safety net, which is a program funded by the state. There's some eligibility requirements you have to make meet with that, you know, some financial requirements you have to meet with that.

But there's also a lot of grants out there for folks, especially the substance use treatment recovery. Whether that's you're being seen in an outpatient by an individual counselor or you're in one of our IOP groups, which is the co-occurring group, and those are telehealth and in-person, or you're looking for our detox services.

which are at our three main hubs as well with our crisis walk-in centers. And the crisis stabilization unit and the detox centers are usually about a three to five day stay, three to seven days, you know, sometimes with the detox, depending on the conditions. But there are several ways that, you know, people can get services from us, but just reach, you know, Google the number, Google the website, walk into one of our centers. Any of those methods will work.

Andrew Moore (35:38)
And I'll put all of that contact information in the show notes as well. I'm curious to on the lack of insurance coverage with all of these grants and with all of the funding. If if I were to walk in and say, I don't have insurance coverage, but I'm having this issue and I need help. Do you have somebody on staff or people on staff that help you work through that? Or is that what what resources are available to help navigate kind of that that landscape?

Nathan Miller (36:05)
you

That depends on which avenue you come in, which door you come in, which is our slogan at Volunteer is no wrong door. So regardless of, and I'm glad you mentioned that statement there because no matter how you come in, we're gonna try to find and get you the help that you need, whether that's with us or without. Or we help you refer to somebody else. But there should be either administrative staff that will help with that, or a care manager, or a BHL (Behavioral Health Liaison)

Andrew Moore (36:14)
Ha ha.

Nathan Miller (36:36)
depending on which door you come in or which avenue you take to help you get in with that. There are also sliding fee scales. So if you don't meet the eligibility requirements, we'll try to work with you to receive services in one way or another. Unless we don't like turning people away, unless there's just an absolute, we have to. We to make sure everybody gets seen and gets help that wants it.

Andrew Moore (37:02)
Yeah, I really appreciate that. saw the, I saw the quote on the notes, the no wrong door. I was trying to figure out where that, where that fit in, but that makes a lot of sense. I do, I do appreciate and commend your, your approach to patient care. You know, it sounds maybe a little trite, but

to be able to focus on the same day service model, to be able to turn around an appointment within a couple of hours to even send everybody home in a pandemic and not miss any appointments. It's impressive. It's a very hard challenge to face and it sounds like you're doing a very good job of approaching it and continuing to move the needle. So.

Nathan Miller (37:45)
It's not been an easy one and

it comes with its pros and cons both, but we still strive to put the client first and their needs. And that's in our book number one.

Andrew Moore (37:59)
Yeah, absolutely. So if someone wanted to help you with your mission in some capacity, what can they do? What can the average person do to help what it is that volunteer behavioral health is trying to accomplish?

Nathan Miller (38:15)
Well I'd say one thing kind of jokingly would be, you know, with shortage of staff, you know, go to school, get your degree.

come work for us, we need really good people. Sometimes, you know, the shortage of mental health providers is really something big. So we are looking, you know, for good folks that meet the requirements. We're always doing that. There's several different levels of job entries that you can have with us. So that's one thing. I say that jokingly, but I really mean it in the long run because we are all time

Andrew Moore (38:25)
You

Nathan Miller (38:54)
for good folks. The other one is, you know, we are a 501c3 agency, private nonprofit, so we do take donations as well. So that's another way of looking at it. You know, and I think the biggest thing, and I this is going to sound kind of cheesy in some respect, but if you are someone out there that, you know, wants to see your community better, wants to help, you know, agencies like ours, you know, if you see something

with yourself or with a family member or a friend, know, talk to them, let them know, hey, you know, there's help out there. I wanna see you do good. I wanna see you live your best life. Here, this number. Go see these folks. To me, that is the best way, you know, to help a business like ours.

Andrew Moore (39:45)
Yeah, absolutely. Which again, the contact information will put in the notes in the description and all of that. But Nathan, I really appreciate your time. has been...

Eye-opening, been educational, fascinating, all of the things to learn the, not only the ways that you're approaching mental health, but also how you're continuing to innovate in that treatment space to keep people in the community and to improve the community and to improve not just the patient outcomes, but quality of life and the whole nine yards. So I really appreciate your time. If there's ever anything as we, as you go down the

if you need any assistance here in the podcast space or you want to chat about anything, I'm happy to help. I'd love to keep in contact and keep having these conversations.

Nathan Miller (40:43)
Well, I really appreciate you having me. Focusing on volunteer and its mission. I have always been very proud of volunteer. That's one reason I have stayed as long as I have. It is a really good organization with really good goals and a lot of initiative. So, I'm very proud of that. Very proud of the work that they do. you know, that's just who I am and that's who we are. So...

We're gonna strive to continue that. I know I will.

Andrew Moore (41:14)
Well, that is great to hear and...

I hope that anybody listening that needs care, needs treatment, that is not only if you're in the vicinity of volunteers operations, but wherever you are, if you need that help and support, find it, find the help, whether it be through volunteer or whether it be through any other avenue, the services exist and what I hope to do and what I believe Nathan hopes to do as well is just to continue bringing awareness of those services.

and what's out there so that folks that need the help can get it. And on that note, if again, contact information will be down below and your show notes in your description, but any questions or any conversation, please reach out. And this has been Plays Well with Others. Thanks for listening.