Interprofessional Primary Care/Mental Health Integrated Care Training Model
The University of Southern Indiana is well into a federal grant program to integrate primary care and mental health services in rural and underserved clinics in southwestern Indiana. In July 2016, USI received $1.7 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to develop and implement an Interprofessional Primary Care/Mental Health Integrated Care training model over a three-year period.
“The 2016 Community Needs Assessment identified mental health as a key priority for Vanderburgh and Warrick counties,” said Dr. Kathy Riedford, associate professor of nursing, who is overseeing the grant as director. “Our project is addressing the critical need for high-quality, integrated primary care/mental health practitioners in the region.”
Grant teams – consisting of students in both the USI nurse practitioner program and Master of Social Work program, along with clinical nurse and social work faculty and a registered pharmacist – have been working in the USI Community Health Center at Glenwood Leadership Academy in Evansville, Tulip Tree Family Health Center in Fort Branch and Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare in Boonville and Mt. Vernon.
Dr. Elizabeth Kalb, project manager for the grant, said the teams will partner with ECHO Housing to provide onsite care at Garvin Lofts, a new development for the chronically homeless. “Our teams work to develop and implement integrated care plans to address behavioral and physical health needs for patients to improve their quality of life.”
MIPERC Awards for Innovative Interprofessional Projects
The Midwest Interprofessional Practice, Education, and Research Center (MIPERC) selected the University of Southern Indiana to receive two awards during its annual conference, held at Grand Valley State University September 22-23, 2016.
Below, left, the USI Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) Team was awarded the Outstanding Demonstration Model Award for its interprofessional care model involving interdisciplinary student teams that interact with patients selected from the USI Community Health Care Clinics and the Veterans Administration Clinic.
Below, right, MIPERC also named Dr. Mary Kay Arvin and Heather Schmuck recipients of the 2016 Outstanding Faculty Award for their board game, Core, Comp Stomp, which teaches students to work together as an inter professional team.
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USI Receives First-Ever Nexus Award for Interprofessional Education
The University of Southern Indiana received the first-ever Nexus Award from the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (NCIPE) during the 2016 National Center Summit, held August 21-23, 2016, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“I am so pleased that the work being done by this interprofessional team of students, faculty and health care professionals is being recognized at the national level,” said Dr. Ann White, dean of the USI College of Nursing and Health Professions. “Preparing our graduates to be effective members o
f the health care team is critically important to improve health and reduce costs.”
The purpose of the Nexus Award is to recognize interprofessional, team-based approaches that connect higher education and health care with goals to transform care delivery, improve health outcomes and decrease costs.