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Rural Wisconsin schools getting mental health help via video
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
mental health weekly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7583
pISSN - 1058-1103
DOI - 10.1002/mhw.32047
Subject(s) - mental health , medicaid , videoconferencing , economic shortage , service (business) , mental health care , mental health service , telepsychiatry , medical education , nursing , medicine , psychology , health care , business , political science , psychiatry , telemedicine , government (linguistics) , engineering , linguistics , philosophy , marketing , law , telecommunications
Students at a rural Wisconsin school district are getting access to mental health services with a new videoconferencing system to address a shortage of options nearby, the Tri‐City Herald reported Sept. 2. “We found that it was a barrier to care for patients who were seeking services but didn't have a means of transportation to receive the service, and also wasted patient time to try to have the counselor commute to the more rural schools,” said Nicole Califf, a behavioral care clinic manager for Prevea Health, the organization that will be connecting with students through videoconferencing. Officials hope to have the program available in October. Students who seek treatment will enter a private room, where they will connect with a therapist on a television screen. The services will be covered by the students' parents' insurance or Medicaid. The school district has about 300 students. School guidance counselor Barb VanDoorn estimates that the percentage of students who struggle with mental health issues is either the same or greater than the Wisconsin state average of 20% of students. Lake Holcombe's program will be funded over two years with $60,000. The money comes from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, which awarded $6.5 million in grants to 120 school districts to address mental health.