Multi-Tasking Louise Patrick Leaving Human Services Dept.

     Louise A. Patrick, Mashpee’s first human services director and a galvanizing force behind social services in town, is moving on after nine years with the town.
     Ms. Patrick informed town officials last week that she will be taking a new position as director of behavioral health services at the Duffy Health Center in Hyannis. Her last day is August 8.
     “She is extremely excellent, and we are really going to miss her,” said Mary M. Scanlan, chairman of the Mashpee Human Services Committee and a volunteer social worker for the town.
     Ms. Patrick is the head of a one-person department that covers a lot of ground, from providing direct counseling to dozens of residents each month to coordinating numerous service programs.
     “I have got to tell you, breaking up is hard to do. It has been a very painful process going through this termination with my clients and the town,” Ms. Patrick said in an interview this week.
     “I have gotten a lot of feedback from clients about how much I have helped. But I try to keep it in perspective because I see myself as a coach or a cheerleader or a consultant, so the individuals I work with, they do the work themselves. They deserve all the credit. Frankly, I feel very honored to have been allowed into the internal life of all my clients. That is something I consider a privilege,” she said.
     In interviews over the past two weeks, Ms. Patrick’s colleagues in human services and town officials lauded Ms. Patrick for her enthusiasm and effort, her knowledge of the services and organizations available to help residents, her networking, and the quality of her counseling.
     “She has been a huge asset for the community,” said Karen L. Gardner, chief operating officer of the Community Health Center of Cape Cod. “She has been the go-to person for a number of human service issues, from behavioral health, to underserved populations, to providing a link to the school system. When we opened up shop here in Mashpee and were reaching out to other community organizations, she was instrumental in helping us make those contacts.”
     Ms. Gardner said, “She shares a real common passion with us, that everyone is connected to care regardless of their ability to pay or their ability to access those services. She has been a real advocate in the community in that regard.”
     Ms. Scanlan emphasized Ms. Patrick’s strengths both in and out of clinical settings. “She is an unusual social worker in that she is very talented in dealing with people but also with the entire community. Most people tend to go in one direction or the other, not both. And Louise is very good in both those fields.”
     John J. Cahalane, chairman of the Mashpee Board of Selectmen who has long been involved in human services issues in town, said, “I think one of Louise’s biggest assets is her personality. She can work with anyone. But the human services committee, which I am on, I think if you ask the members, you would probably come up with a different answer from every person. I personally like the way that she interacts with the community so much, and seems to be hands-on in knowing where the problems are and being able to create programs to solve it. Whereas if you talked to some of the others, I am sure some would say the clinical part of it where she can interact with the community so well.”
     Daniel Patenaude, a guidance counselor at Mashpee High School with whom Ms. Patrick has worked closely, said Ms. Patrick’s strengths lie in her ability to work with all types of people, from colleagues to parents to students. “She has a way of working well with everyone.”
     Ms. Patrick said the decision to leave was a tough one, as she has been happy working in Mashpee for the last nine years. But the behavioral health position at Duffy, which serves homeless and at-risk individuals from throughout Cape Cod, was too good to pass up.
     “It is something that I am familiar with because of my 10 years working with Gosnold, because many of the patients at Duffy have substance dependence and substance abuse problems,” she said of Gosnold Cape Cod, which offers addiction treatment and support services.
     Ms. Patrick said she was attracted to working with a team instead of in a somewhat isolated department of one, as well as the integration of behavioral health and primary care espoused by Duffy.
     “It is also the same thing that attracted me here to Mashpee in that it is building a program from the ground up,” she said.
     Ms. Patrick said since she came on as the head of the fledgling program here, it has not changed much, but it has grown with more people becoming aware of it and as she has developed contacts.
     “So many times getting things done in a community has to do with the relationships that you build over time, and I think I have built a lot of strong relationships here in the community,” she said, citing a recent example of when a school nurse called with a request to get a student seen at the health center earlier than scheduled. Ms. Patrick was able to make a call, and get the appointment moved up.
     “Another real benefit to me in this community, I have to be honest with you, has been being able to refer a lot of clients or residents to my husband’s office and to his legislative aide, who could make a lot of things happen and open a lot of doors that I couldn’t,” Ms. Patrick said, referring to state Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D – Falmouth) and his aide, Margaret B. Konner. Mr. Patrick represents Mashpee Precincts 2, 4, and 5
     “A big part of what I do is advocacy and helping people who have been disempowered or disenfranchised,” she said.
     “One of my goals was just to make sure that Mashpee had a seat at the table for anything going on that may affect this community from a human services standpoint,” she said.
     Several of those interviewed for this article said that she will be extraordinarily difficult for the town to replace; others said doing so will not be possible.
     “It is going to be tough to fill her shoes, to find somebody with the same ability and qualities,” Town Manager Joyce M. Mason said.
     “She is probably irreplaceable, as far as what she does for the town,” Mr. Cahalane said.
     Mr. Cahalane pointed to the four-page job description for Ms. Patrick’s position and said that, as wide-ranging as it is, Ms. Patrick does it all. On the list of “essential functions” is: identify human service needs of the community; assess the programs that are available; determine unmet needs; advocate for and promote additional programs; plan and administer programs and direct counseling; and the list goes on.
     “The job was almost created to suit all her specialties,” Mr. Cahalane said. “The more you think it over, the more you realize how much she has been involved with.”
     Mr. Cahalane and others said she works closely with the Mashpee Police Department, the Mashpee School System, the county Human Rights Commission, the county Human Services Department, affordable housing groups, and others.
     Ms. Scanlan said it is difficult to summarize the position, adding that Ms. Patrick has gone beyond the job description to organize a food drive at Town Meeting this spring and help residents with home heating fuel aid applications and state health insurance programs.
     Ms. Patrick said her responsibilities have grown since she came on, as more people in town have become aware of the services she provides.
     Ms. Mason said she will consult the human services committee and Mr. Cahalane to solicit feedback on what direction the position should move in.
     Mr. Cahalane and Ms. Scanlan both said the town should look replace Ms. Patrick as closely as possible, though Mr. Cahalane said the program may have to be adapted to whomever is selected.
     Ms. Mason said she will reassess the position description, based in part on the assumption that Ms. Patrick has been doing more than required, so residents now expect more.
     Ms. Mason said she will consider paring it back to part-time, as with all other positions that become open at town hall. “We want to make sure if we are filling it full-time there is a need for that,” she said.
     She said she will begin advertising for candidates by August.