Children’s mental health network celebrates
growth
Integrating Professionals for Appalachian Children (IPAC)
held an appreciation event to recognize
collaboration of services
|
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). |
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 Heritage College of
Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM).
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-HCOM 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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