On June 1, Curtis Cook and Alexandra Cristello manned the Vitality Unlimited Mobile Services vehicle in the Crescent Valley Clinic and town center parking lot. The Vitality Team serves White Pine, Lander, Elko and Eureka Counties with behavioral health treatment.
Cook’s job “is to make everybody comfortable: be a cheerleader.” He has “substance abuse in my history” and has “long-term sobriety.” Cristello is training to be a therapist. He is “basically a cheerleader to make everybody comfortable if they need to talk about something that’s bothering them, especially substance abuse.”
Cook explained the “first part here is the intake,” which “takes about an hour, and then they go do an assessment,” and “then they can do almost everything on the bus: get a virtual or in-person.”
Those interested in making an appointment can call 775-777-8477.
“We’re here every other Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.,” Cook noted. The team doesn’t do blood work but can “set them up to send them somewhere to do blood work.” Cook said, “We can give prescriptions, and they can go to their pharmacy. We don’t carry meds on board, but they can be prescribed meds.”
Cristello said, “We’re working toward being sustainable. Since we’re in the beginning stages of the grant and the project, we’re still getting some stuff on board, but Vitality Unlimited does primary care. In order to be physically assessed in person, they’re going to have to travel to Elko. We can give mental health treatment, individual counseling services, meeting with our APN, all virtual. And meet with targeted case management and peer support in person.”
Cristello is a targeted case manager, and she and Cook’s role “is to make sure that treatment is effective and that everything is going well clinically for clients if they need residential treatment, mental health treatment, medication management; primary care remains in person, but we can virtually do any sort of counseling services. We can meet with our psychiatric team as well, but that would be virtual. In person, you get targeted case management and peer-support specialist services,” which focus on “recovery, relapse prevention, recovery support, and I focus more on making sure treatment is going well and anything needed to ensure treatment is going right.” Cristello can help with legal, employment and housing.
Cristello and Cook visit Crescent Valley, Carlin, Wells, Eureka, Ely, West Wendover, Battle Mountain, Owyhee and Jackpot. When they are in Ely and Eureka, they stay overnight in a hotel; otherwise, “we leave really early in the morning and drive to these locations,” Cristello related. “Our main office is based out of Elko,” and “getting people to start treatment is the first step.”