The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will expand a program statewide to support primary care providers in addressing children's and pregnant women's mental health issues with a five-year federal grant for $445,000 annually.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration is awarding the funding to MDHHS for its Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program.
MDHHS will support implementation of the five-year project called the Michigan Child Collaborative Care-Connect, also known as MC3-Connect. MDHHS will expand its partnership with the University of Michigan and build a new partnership with Michigan State University-Pediatrics. MC3 is in 50 counties in northern, western and southern Michigan. Expansion of this psychiatric consultation service will be in the thumb, mid-Michigan and western counties in the Upper Peninsula.
"This project will target urban and rural populations through supporting local primary care providers who treat children with mental health issues in their clinics," said Dr. George Mellos, director of MDHHS's Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Administration. "So far MC3 has served 2,762 children. Expanding this effective program will be beneficial to children around the state who need support from their primary care provider and referrals to mental health programs to address their mental health needs."
The project will provide same-day telephone psychiatric consultation from child, adolescent and perinatal psychiatrists from U-M or MSU to primary care providers regarding their patients, including children, youth and pregnant women, as well as telehealth evaluations for complex patients. Complex patients have mental health needs and may have experienced trauma or toxic stress or are at risk for a higher level of care such as hospitalization or intensive treatment.
Behavioral health consultants from Community Mental Health Services programs will be available to primary care providers to help connect patients to local mental health services.
More than 2,000 primary care providers have enrolled in MC-3 Connect. The goal of the newly funded grant is to expand psychiatric consultation via telephone to primary care providers serving children, youth and pregnant women statewide along with educational opportunities for those primary care providers.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U4CMC32321, Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program as part of an award totaling $534,000, with 20 percent financed with state government resources. This information or content and conclusions are those of MDHHS, and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should an endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. government.
Published: Tue, Nov 06, 2018
