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Children’s
mental health network celebrates growth
Integrating
Professionals for Appalachian Children (IPAC) held an appreciation
event to recognize collaboration of services
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Jane Hamel-Lambert,
M.B.A., Ph.D., IPAC
president and
director of
interdisciplinary
mental health
education at the
Ohio University
College of
Osteopathic Medicine
(OU-COM).
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Sept. 26, 2008
By Anita Martin
September 25 marked the Sunrise
Celebration, an appreciation
breakfast for Integrating Professionals for Appalachian Children
(IPAC),
a regional network of organizations committed to improving
children’s mental health. At the event, hosted by the Ohio
University Inn, IPAC thanked member organizations and recognized
individuals who have played leadership roles within the network.
“IPAC is a platform that pulls
together the resources and wisdom of the community and the
university to improve how we care for children in our region,” said
Jane Hamel-Lambert, M.B.A., Ph.D., IPAC president and
director of interdisciplinary mental health education at the Ohio
University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM).
The non-profit network includes
local families; fourteen community agencies in Athens, Hocking,
Meigs and Vinton Counties; and several Ohio University departments
and clinics. IPAC participants work together to better screen and
assess early childhood mental health risks and eliminate redundant
efforts.
“There have been many collaborative
attempts, but IPAC has been most successful in its scale and quality
of cooperation between community and university voices,” said John
Borchard, B.S.N., director of program development for the Southern
Consortium for Children. “We all serve the same population; we want
to lessen the silo effect and make sure that
kids receive seamless care.”
IPAC began coming together in 2003
and gained rapid momentum last fall when the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services awarded them a three-year, $540,000 grant
through its federal Health Resources and Services Administration’s
Office of Rural Health Policy.
The centerpiece initiative of IPAC
is its Family Care Navigator Program. The first family care
navigator, Sue Meeks, R.N., is a registered nurse
who assists families in finding the right care for their children
and overcoming barriers – from transportation to understanding
diagnoses. Meeks is also the nurse coordinator for OU-COM Community
Health Programs.
Speakers at Thursday’s event
frequently referenced “Joey,” a child whose family came to Meeks
years ago, after puzzling through years of multiple referrals with
no clear diagnosis or treatment plan.
“When Joey entered our lives, it
really gave us (IPAC) focus,” Borchard said. “We realized we really
needed to integrate our services, collaborate more with each other
and put something in place to better assist families.”
In addition to the Family Navigator
Program, IPAC has established an interdisciplinary assessment team
and the co-location of mental health providers at University Medical
Associates in Athens and Family Healthcare, Inc., in McArthur. They
also distributed a standardized screening tool to IPAC members,
schools and daycare facilities to improve early detection of mental
health risks.
For more on IPAC, visit
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/ipac/, or contact
Jane Hamel-Lambert at
hamel-lj@ohio.edu or 740-593-2289.
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