Mental Health Grant Funding Available to Help Kids in the U.P.
In March 2020, schools across Michigan were abruptly shut down to halt the spread of COVID-19. Since then, children and teens have had to grapple with different forms of learning, separation from friends and teachers and a disruption to their normal social routines as schools have adapted with varying levels of instruction across the state.
Experts worry about the effects the pandemic has had on kids’ mental health. Since April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that mental health-related emergency department visits have increased for all school-age children, compared to 2019 numbers.
As the executive director of Great Lakes Recovery Centers, Inc., which provides mental health services in the Upper Peninsula, and president of the Negaunee Public Schools Board of Education, Greg Toutant sees firsthand that more help is needed to reach children who are struggling.
Learn more at mibluesperspectives.com
Nine Michigan Organizations Receive Suicide Prevention Funding
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have been sounding the alarm that a side effect of the virus and accompanying restrictions would almost certainly be worsening mental health outcomes, up to and including increases in suicidal thoughts and death by suicide.
Earlier this year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan joined forces with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the Children’s Foundation and the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation to offer funding to Michigan-based, non-profit health care providers to implement suicide-prevention interventions that are evidence-based and sustainable.
Nine programs were recently awarded grants totaling nearly $650,000, with funding prioritizing populations experiencing health disparities due to income, age, gender identity and ethnic or racial characteristics. Funders worked to ensure grant funding was awarded in each region of the state to maximize impact in a diverse and equitable way.
Learn more at mibluesperspectives.com
COVID-19 Accelerates Telehealth Expansion at Rural Health Centers
Prior to COVID-19, George Olson and his team at Sterling Area Health Center knew they wanted to expand access to telehealth – web-based care offered virtually through laptops, phones and tablets – but they just hadn’t found a way to make it a sustainable offering for patients they serve in northwest Michigan’s Arenac, Iosco and Ogemaw counties.
“COVID changed that,” Olson, president and CEO of the center, explained. “This thing hits and then we were really looking at what solutions we could put in place.”
More flexibility in reimbursements for virtual care helped, as did $50,000 in grant funding under a rapid response telehealth initiative supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. The grant is part of a larger, nearly $3M collaborative effort with the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation and the Metro Health Foundation to help Michigan providers and safety net organizations rapidly expand telehealth services.
Learn more at mibluesperspectives.com