A new $1.5 million behavioral health program has been announced by the Virginia Health Care Foundation which is designed to increase the access to mental health care for uninsured Virginians and also those with little or no access to medical care.
The two-year initiative has been revealed on Monday, which is called as Beyond Blue. The initiative will focus on three areas starting from this summer:
treatment of depression in the patients with diabetes;
implementation of the trauma-informed approach to care with the focus on resiliency training; and also
number of psychiatric nurse practitioners in the Virginia.
The foundation is a partnership of public and private which helps the uninsured Virginians and also to those who live in the areas without robust medical, dental and also mental health services.
More than 200 supporters of the program have gathered on Monday to hear a slate of politicians speak in an anniversary luncheon.
“Last summer, when we thought about how to mark the 25th anniversary of the foundation, we determined we wanted to do something meaningful to address the behavioral health need in Virginia. Everywhere we looked, unaddressed mental health issues were a problem,” said Ralph Howell, the chairman of Virginia Health Care Foundation’s board of trustees.
Depression and also anxiety are very common among the patients who are helped by the foundation, said Howell, but still, three-quarters of the state is in officially designated shortage area for the mental health professionals. Only 213 psychiatric nurse practitioners are in the state.
Among the patients with diabetes, depression is a major obstacle which makes it harder to maintain the weight-loss routines and also diet restrictions, said Howell.
The executive director of the foundation, Debbie Oswalt said that only $1.1 million of the $1.5 million needed for the program has been raised till now.
The initiative healthcare program will be underwritten by a challange grant of $500,000 from the Collis-Warner Foundation.
The foundation’s three initial funders are the Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States and also the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association.
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