For many people, accessing mental health and substance use care remains a struggle. That’s especially true for individuals who also live with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Boundless, a National Council member and whole-person care provider in Ohio, is doing their part by helping people in need live full, healthy lives. We sat down with President and CEO Patrick Maynard, Ph.D., to learn more about their work, the importance of providing individualized services and what’s in store for 2023.

Boundless has been helping people for more than 40 years. What’s the secret to your success?

I think it comes from staying in front of our customers’ needs and wants. Our organization has reinvented itself several times, evolving from a pure, traditional I/DD provider in the early years, to where we are now: an organization that prides itself on serving the whole person via integrated behavioral health, I/DD and [physical] health services.

How are you connecting individuals to high-quality, comprehensive care? 

Our belief in individualized services drives how we provide services and the type of services we offer. We take the time to assess each person’s unique needs when they visit us for services and supports, be it behavioral health, day and residential supports, health services, etc. With that depth of assessment, we can then provide a unique, individualized service plan for every customer — often with Boundless providing the integrated services, but also coordinating services with other providers as needed.

What example best describes the impact and importance of your work?

A teen boy with autism and related, severe behavioral challenges had been in and out of several institutions already when his behavior once again rose to a level where it was dangerous for him to remain in his home. A lack of local and state options resulted in him being admitted to a pediatric hospital — more than 100 miles from his home — where he stayed for three years. Boundless was invited into the picture and brought the young man back to his hometown and into a therapeutic residential setting where, within one year, he went from needing a lot of support (15:1 staffing ratio) to less support (3:1). His self-abusive and aggressive behaviors reduced by almost 85%. By year three, he had a roommate and was going to the movies and grocery shopping. And he was integrated back into a school setting.

How are you getting the community involved in the work you’re doing? 

In seeking to implement our organization’s first-ever capital campaign a few years ago, we discovered that our name and brand weren’t well-known outside of our field. In fact, our campaign consultants told us that if we would take a year to focus on raising public awareness of us and our brand, we could expect to meet and even exceed our fundraising campaign goal. We spent a good year meeting and engaging with our public through meetings, presentations, events and virtual meetings. The outcome was that we reached 75% of our two-year fundraising goal in less than one year, and that community support has continued to grow as those relationships expand.

What was your biggest accomplishment in 2022, and what do you have planned for 2023?

I would say opening Ohio’s first health services clinic specifically aimed at people with disabilities and complex needs. Our new site provides dentistry, psychiatry and primary health, all integrated with Boundless’ other I/DD day and residential programs and behavioral health services. In the first year, the clinic went from no primary health patients to nearly 500! As for 2023, we will be applying for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) grant status for our behavioral health programs and will continue to grow our health services so we can apply to become an FQHC Look-alike.

What do you enjoy most about being a National Council member?

It’s got to be the power of this large membership and the representative organization that provides a powerful voice to advocate and champion the cause of our service mission. Not only is this a huge magnifier to lobby for our industry, but we at Boundless also love the networking that enables us to share our innovations while simultaneously learning from everyone else.

The National Council’s membership consists of health care organizations and management entities across the U.S. that offer supports to millions of adults, children and families living with mental health and substance use challenges. Learn how to become a National Council member today!

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