New Initiative: Advancing Colorado's Mental Health Care

IDENTIFYING NEEDS
The Status of Mental Health Care in ColoradoAccording to The Status of Mental Health Care in Colorado – a report commissioned by eight Colorado foundations to document and analyze the state’s public and private mental-health system – one Coloradan in five needs mental health treatment, but only one-third of those who need treatment receive it. At the same time, costs are going up and state expenditures are going down, making access to treatment even more diffi cult for people who need it most. The social and economic costs for untreated mental illness include suicide, lost productivity, increased substance abuse, higher rates of incarceration and homelessness, among other costs.

CRAFTING SOLUTIONS
Following the release of this study, The Colorado Trust, Caring for Colorado Foundation, The Denver Foundation and HealthONE Alliance joined together to work on a project to better meet the needs of Coloradans with severe mental illnesses. Specifically, the Advancing Colorado’s Mental Health Care project is designed to help support the coordination of services so that persons with mental health needs can receive the care they need, regardless of funding sources, organizational structures or variations in policy
and practice. Six Colorado communities have been selected as grantees under this effort, with each representing a collaborative among numerous nonprofit and public agencies.

Randall Reitz, Collaborative Care Supervisor, Marillac Clinic (Grand Junction)


Marillac Clinic
“When a patient’s needs go beyond primary care, they’re often asked to see another provider in a different area, such as for mental health care,” says Randall Reitz, Collaborative Care Supervisor at Grand Junction’s Marillac Clinic, the lead agency in the Mesa County Consortium on Health and a grantee of the Advancing Colorado’s Mental Health Care project. “That means the potential for losing track of a patient’s progress, and that the patient may not follow through with treatment if access to the referred provider is inconvenient or intimidating.”

The Mesa County collaborative effort focuses on reducing such barriers to care. “It’s a matter of strengthening existing connections among health care providers to offer wraparound treatment at every location,” he said. “When primary care providers offer same-day access to onsite specialty services like psychiatric assessment, therapy and counseling, we can avoid difficult patient transitions.

" While the Marillac Clinic has long provided integrated primary and mental health care services, the clinic’s efforts under this project are focused on expanding its ability to care for patients with more severe and complex mental health conditions. As such, the consortium is also working to improve patient outreach by developing a shared registry of medical records. “By tracking relevant information about a suicidal patient, for example, we can more effectively monitor that person with follow-up phone calls, provide support for self-management and offer necessary treatment,” said Randall. “Accessibility and proactive patient outreach are key ways to expand the circle of care in Mesa County. It’s something we’re very passionate about.”