Additional behavioral health services have been identified as a need in Jefferson County for a number of years. Jefferson Community Health & Life is preparing to launch a new behavioral health service to provide care to area residents.

JCH&L has hired two providers, Nicole Topliff, APRN, FNP, PMHNP,

and Caitlin Tucker, PLMHP, to begin offering behavioral health services. Appointments are not yet available, as JCH&L is working on setting up the program and credentialing the providers.  Topliff will offer services as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, diagnosing, treating and prescribing medication for mental health conditions. Tucker will offer services as a Provisionally Licensed Mental Health Practitioner. She is working toward full licensing as a mental health practitioner and will offer therapy as she works toward completing her required hours of supervised experience.

“JCH&L has long recognized the need for expanded behavioral health services in our community, and we’re excited to be moving forward with plans to provide the support our local residents need,” said Holly Wolff, JCH&L CEO.

Topliff and Tucker have offices onsite at Jefferson Community Health & Life. Appointments will be made through a designated JCH&L Behavioral Health telephone line, which will be announced when appointments are available.

Both are eager to begin to offer services in this new service line at JCH&L.

Topliff grew up in Superior and her parents still live there. She is a Veteran of the United States Air Force and began her health care career as a medic during Operation Desert Storm; she then acquired her RN degree in 1998. She worked in ER and ICU as an RN until 2011 when she achieved her first of two master’s degrees, from the University of Iowa, for family practice and psychiatry/mental health. “Nursing found me and my experience working as a professional nurse has been very rewarding”, Topliff said.

Topliff said she cares for her clients utilizing a holistic approach and being certified in both family practice and psychiatry/mental health are important aspects of the care she provides.  She said the need for behavioral health services is everywhere, and her goal is to meet clients where they are, evaluate needs, and offer her support.

“I’m looking forward to my part towards establishing this new service line that I know is a great need and to become a part of the community.”

She enjoys music, traveling, and driving her Mustang. She and her husband have two adult children and two grand pets.

Tucker is also a veteran and a reservist. She was involved in mental health care in the Army. She served four years in active service, serving in Afghanistan, and continues to serve in the Army Reserve.

“I just love being a safe space for people to work through life’s issues,” Tucker said. “We definitely all have our problems.”

Tucker said she is glad that some of the stigma in seeking mental health care has decreased. While there are still barriers to mental health care, there has been a lot of progress, she said.

She has five children under the age of eight. She grew up in Rhode Island and served in Texas in the military – but she said she loves it in Nebraska.

Outside of work she enjoys hiking, yoga, Pilates, gardening, reading, writing poetry, and doing things with her children.

 

 

Community members,

Thank you all for trusting Jefferson Community Health & Life with your care and wellness, we remain dedicated to being your hospital of choice.  Our commitment goes beyond the mission statement of providing exceptional services and aims to achieve our vision of being your most trusted partner in health.

I know that this time of uncertainty can be stressful and wanted to reach out with words of comfort and an update on our efforts.  Our immediate focus is to ensure short term coverage throughout the clinic and hospital, maintaining the system of primary and secondary providers.  The efforts include engaging temporary staffing to recruit providers for immediate coverage, as well as reaching out to area physicians that may be willing to help.  This is a two-fold approach so that we can partner with providers that may already live in the area, as well as ensuring patients are being seen in a timely manner. Our current team of physicians and advance practice providers have been wonderful in creating flexible schedules for the immediate necessary coverage.  As we work to assist patients with transferring care to a new primary care provider (PCP), we aim to offer as many options as possible.  You may see some new faces with our part time physicians, but they are all JCH&L staff and Nebraska-trained.  The longer-term goals include permanent recruitment and retention of physicians, utilizing our network of recruiters and professional connections in the medical field.

We always welcome comments, concerns or ideas if you want to reach out.  Feel free to connect with anyone on the administration team. Your input may help steer our efforts.  Thank you again for supporting JCH&L while we navigate through this difficult situation. We will always keep the needs of patients, residents, and community members at the heart of our decision-making.

Holly Wolff, MHA, LNHA, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer
Jefferson Community Health & Life