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Children’s mental health professionals unite

By Colleen Kiphart

Photo by Larry Hamel-Lambert

 
Sue Meeks instructing medical staff at the University Medical Associates office of Eduardo Robles, D.O., in Nelsonville.

If the screening suggests a potential mental health issue, administrators can contact Sue Meeks, RN, IPAC’s first family care navigator. In her role, Meeks assists families in finding the right care for their children and overcoming barriers—from transportation to understanding diagnoses and facilitating communication among providers. Meeks is also the nurse coordinator for OU-COM Community Health Programs.

“Sue is a force,” says Hamel-Lambert. “She works hard for these families to guide them through the maze of state and federal programs.”

Meeks connects families with immediate assistance and often schedules them with the IAT. “Even if the Interdisciplinary Assessment Team is unable to definitely diagnose a child, or if there is some disagreement among them, the family is nevertheless presented with a report that details treatment options. They’re never left wondering, ‘What’s next?’ Parents know what’s happening,” says Meeks.

IPAC has received several grants since its inception. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the network $375,000 to help bring early childhood mental health consultation services to public preschool classrooms and to implement a  workforce development initiative.

As the local successes build, state agencies have taken note. “We were also the only organization in the region—in the state, even­­—to be selected by Ohio Department of Health to partner on a grant application that has the potential to bring $550,000-a-year into our region through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”  A funding decision is expected by the end of September.

And, as IPAC tops $1 million in total aggregate funding this year, Hamel-Lambert still keeps busy researching funding opportunities. “Before I was involved in IPAC I was not involved in writing grants. IPAC brings together the expertise of the community and university to define problems and design solutions. External funding opportunities enable us to bring resources to bear on the problems our community wants to address. IPAC is getting more children into the proper channels and systems, and we are also helping to better fund those systems.”

According to Borchard, the mutual benefits of IPAC participation have fueled the growth of this unprecedented community-university collaboration. “We all have the same goal, to help children, and IPAC is really making it easier for individual organizations, the university and the state to do that,” he says. “We are all passionately committed to helping the youngest members of our community.

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