Digital Web for Rural Mental Health (Susan's Story)

There is a behavioral health care crisis in rural America. The Substance Abuse &
Mental Health Services Administration reports that 1 out of 5 residents of
nonmetropolitan United States counties had some sort of mental illness. Meanwhile,
more than 60% of rural Americans live in mental health professional shortage areas.
Tragically, the economic decline that fuels despair and need for behavioral health
care in many remote settings also reduces its availability. In upstate New York (NYS),
our rural counties are among the hardest hit in these regards, following years of
economic downturn and the outmigration of jobs. Over the last decade, the number
of suicides in NYS increased by 32% (to over 1,700 per year). At the same time, rural
cultural mores - including values on independence, caring for oneself and one’s
own, and stigma around behavioral health - can create obstacles to seeking care.
The Digital Web proposes to engage members of the Allegany community, reduce
health disparities, and improve the quality of behavioral health care and support
received by individuals, families and caregivers. Leveraging the expertise of our team
members and technology, the Digital Web is creating linkages between our
community partners and the region’s academic medical center. Our strategies and
initiatives are to: equip community providers with the knowledge, skills, and comfort
level to treat patients with complex behavioral health within their community, and, to
increase access to behavioral health care through digital interventions.
Read the free toolkit online:
clinicalschola...
“It’s too much, I can barely move.” Susan’s anxiety had gotten worse than it’s ever been in recent years. But living in rural Allegheny County, seeking treatment can be very difficult. Typically, Susan calls the local community behavioral health clinic. However, the next time she can be seen is in three months. “That won’t work. I need help now.” So Susan ends up in the emergency department for psychiatric care. But there aren’t any psychiatric providers at the small community hospital. Susan waits for hours before being evaluated and transferred an hour and a half north to a larger hospital. The psychiatric emergency department is packed. There’s shouting and people running as Susan anxiously awaits yet again. But like almost 90% of people transferred from smaller hospitals, Susan doesn’t fit the criteria for inpatient psychiatric admission. 24 hours have passed, and Susan hasn’t received the services she needs. Instead, she is discharged, put in an ambulance, and sent all the way back home to Allegheny County with no care coordinated. Susan and rural residents deserve better access to mental health care.
The Digital Web solution connects rural communities with additional support in a cost-effective way so individuals can receive the level of care they need, where they need it. Now, the local therapists, the local hospital, and the larger hospital work together for onsite psychiatric engagement, telepsychiatry, and telementoring. So that Susan and others are connected to the mental health care they need.