WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to better address the needs of the estimated 40 percent of adults living with serious mental illness who do not receive mental health services,1 Connect 4 Mental Health® (C4MH) today announced the winners of the 2014 Community Innovation Awards. With these awards, C4MH partners – the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Council for Behavioral Health (National Council), Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Lundbeck — recognize local mental health organizations across the country that are working to address serious mental illness in their communities at a grassroots level across four service areas: early intervention, creative use of technology, continuity of care and service integration.
“People with mental illness can and do lead meaningful lives, especially when they are supported in achieving their goals as valued members of their communities,” said Mary Giliberti, Executive Director of NAMI. “A key to achieving positive outcomes and preventing negative consequences such as homelessness and poverty is through sustainable collaboration between individuals, providers and systems, making C4MH an important catalyst for facilitating these types of collaborative efforts.”
The winning organizations in each category are:
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Early intervention: NAMI
– Collier County
NAMI of Collier County (Naples, FL) provides a comprehensive array of services to support individuals living with mental illness. The organization’s Health Under Guided Systems (HUGS) program, part of a broader mental health initiative known as “Beautiful Minds,” provides universal screenings to support the early identification of behavioral health problems in at-risk children up to age 18. The HUGS program has served more than 3,000 low-income, at-risk youth since 2010.
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Creative Use of Technology: Crisis
Text Line
Crisis Text Line (CTL) (New York, NY) is the first nationwide, free, 24/7 text hotline for teens experiencing any type of crisis, including mental health-related issues like anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. In partnership with select crisis centers across the country, CTL hosts a network of 230 trained counselors (as of November 2014), who provide individualized support to teens using CTL’s software. CTL has exchanged more than 3.9 million messages with individuals in need since launching as a pilot program in August of 2013.
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Continuity of Care: Charleston
Dorchester Mental Health Center (CDMHC)
Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center (CDMHC) (Charleston and Summerville, SC) provides emergency services, case management, and evidence- based outpatient counseling and psychiatric treatment for children, adolescents, adults and families. CDMHC’s Assessment/Mobile Crisis Program (A/MC) offers the only 24/7 psychiatric emergency response and intake team in South Carolina, responding to critical mental health issues anywhere in the area that would otherwise go un-served. Between July 2013 and June 2014, the A/MC team helped to prevent 2,080 emergency department admissions, successfully diverting many of those patients to outpatient services.
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Service Integration: Robert
Young Center
The Robert Young Center (RYC) (Moline, IL) is a comprehensive community mental health center and a fully integrated corporation within UnityPoint Health – Trinity. The RYC has partnered with the local Federally Qualified Community Health Care (CHC) Center in Iowa and Illinois to provide bidirectional integration of primary and behavioral healthcare for individuals with serious mental illness. Through this model, the RYC has helped integrate health services for individuals with serious mental illness, and has saved the state of Illinois more than $8.2 million in Medicaid costs since 2009.
The Community Innovation Awards recipients were selected by a panel of judges from NAMI and the National Council, as well as representatives from the 2013 C4MH national success communities, who will serve as mentors to this year’s award winners. In addition to the mentorship program, the winning organizations will receive a $10,000 award from the C4MH initiative.
“We applaud these organizations, who have found innovative ways to positively impact the lives of people with serious mental illness,” said Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council. “By sharing their experiences, resources, and information they inspire us, they allow us to learn from each other and they give communities the chance to replicate success.”
Launched in 2013, C4MH attempts to highlight why broader leadership and collaboration at the community level are important in addressing the needs of individuals living with serious mental illness and show how the experiences of select communities across the nation may serve as models for change. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to addressing mental healthcare locally, there may be best practices and actionable steps that communities could consider as they establish or improve upon their mental health programs or service offerings. To learn more about C4MH, the Community Innovation Awards and the need for community-oriented solutions for serious mental illness visit www.connect4mentalhealth.com.
About Connect 4 Mental Health®
Connect 4 Mental Health® (C4MH) is a nationwide initiative calling for communities to prioritize serious mental illness and advocate for new approaches that aim to help make a difference for individuals living with these conditions, their families and their communities. The campaign encourages collaboration among the mental health community and other community-based organizations – such as emergency services, law enforcement and public housing – to develop localized interventions that provide additional support for those with serious mental illness and also may help address larger community problems. C4MH launched nationally in November 2013 with its Community Collaboration Summit in Washington, D.C., where mental health advocates and criminal justice, housing and other community-based stakeholders introduced several comprehensive and integrated approaches aimed at helping the estimated 1 in 17 Americans living with serious mental illness, their families and their broader communities.2
C4MH is an alliance between the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Council for Behavioral Health (National Council), Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Lundbeck.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the largest grassroots mental health organization in the U.S. dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI advocates for patient access to services, treatment, supports and research and is steadfast in its commitment to raise awareness and build a community of hope for all of those in need. NAMI is the foundation for hundreds of NAMI state organizations, NAMI affiliates and volunteer leaders who work in local communities across the country to raise awareness and provide essential and free education, advocacy and support group programs. To learn more about NAMI, visit www.nami.org.
National Council for Behavioral Health (National Council)
The National Council for Behavioral Health (National Council) is the unifying voice of America’s community mental health and addictions treatment organizations. Together with 2,200 member organizations, it serves more than eight million adults and children living with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. The organization is committed to ensuring all Americans have access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery and full participation in community life. The National Council pioneered Mental Health First Aid in the U.S. and has trained more than 150,000 individuals to connect youth and adults in need to mental health and addictions care in their communities. To learn more about the National Council, visit www.thenationalcouncil.org.
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OAPI) is an innovative, fast-growing healthcare company that commercializes Otsuka-discovered and in-licensed products in the U.S., with a strong focus on neuroscience, oncology, cardio-renal and medical devices. For more information, visit www.otsuka-us.com.
OAPI is a subsidiary of Otsuka America, Inc. (OAI), a holding company established in the U.S. in 1989. OAI is wholly owned by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., based in Japan. The Otsuka Group employs approximately 42,000 people globally and its products are available in more than 80 countries worldwide. Otsuka welcomes you to visit its global website at https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/.
Lundbeck
Based in Deerfield, Ill., Lundbeck U.S. was formed in 2009 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of H. Lundbeck A/S in Denmark. With a focus on accelerating advances in brain disorders, employees are engaged in the research, development, production, marketing and sale of innovative therapies that fulfill unmet medical needs among people living with challenging and sometimes rare neurologic and psychiatric disorders. In its late-stage research pipeline, the company has neurology compounds under investigation for Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and epilepsy, in addition to therapies in development for mental health disorders. With a special commitment to the lives of patients, families and caregivers, Lundbeck actively engages in hundreds of initiatives each year that support our patient communities. To learn more, visit us at www.LundbeckUS.com and connect with us on Twitter at @LundbeckUS.
References:
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2012). Results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings (HHS Publication No. (SMA) 12-4725). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
- (2013). The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America. National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). Retrieved October 4, 2013, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml.
