News

A groundbreaking $10 million investment in maternal health is set to tackle one of the most overlooked and critical issues in the U.S.: the behavioral health of pregnant and postpartum women. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has awarded grants to launch the Community-Based Maternal Behavioral Health Services Program. This initiative is designed to address behavioral health challenges like postpartum depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder—conditions that impact 1 in 5 new and expectant mothers.

This isn’t just about helping mothers—it’s about transforming the well-being of entire families. Too often, behavioral health issues during pregnancy and postpartum are left untreated, leading to a cascade of negative effects on mothers, children, and their broader communities. With this program, SAMHSA aims to step in where gaps in care have sabotaged the health of so many.

Maternal behavioral health care in the U.S. has been woefully underfunded and undervalued. The statistics are staggering—1 in 5 mothers experiencing behavioral health conditions means millions of families face ripple effects caused by untreated symptoms. Conditions such as postpartum depression or substance use disorders often worsen in silence. Without care, these challenges can derail a mother’s ability to fully recover and care for her child, creating long-term consequences for the entire family.

The significance of this grant ripples far beyond individual mothers. Maternal health is the foundation of a thriving family, and when it falters, everyone feels the impact. For children, untreated maternal mental health issues can lead to developmental delays, emotional difficulties, and an insecure start in life. For communities, the cycle of untreated conditions can strain local healthcare, child welfare, and social support systems.

By investing in resources that provide targeted, compassionate care for mothers, SAMHSA’s initiative marks an essential shift in addressing the root causes of maternal health disparities. Until now, systemic barriers have left at-risk mothers—especially those in underserved communities, such as women of color, rural women, and those living in poverty—without the care they desperately need.

But with these grants, care access grows, cultural barriers shrink, and pathways to holistic health open up. By strengthening referral systems and provider training, this program ensures that no mother falls through the cracks simply because she didn’t know where to turn.

Read more at MyChesCo.com

The mental health equivalent of the urgent care medical clinic has arrived in south central Pennsylvania and, in the eyes of many who work in the field, not a minute too soon.

It’s the region’s first 24/7, mental health walk-in clinic – and it will open next Wednesday in newly-renovated Dauphin County-owned building at 1100 S. Cameron St. in Harrisburg.

Serving people from age 14 and up, the Connections Emergency Behavioral Health Crisis Walk-in Center – a joint venture of the Dauphin and Cumberland / Perry county mental health agencies – will serve anyone showing up with mental health needs, regardless of their insurance coverage or ability to pay.

A separate back door entrance is dedicated to people bring brought in by police officers who have determined immediate mental health treatment is the better response than, say, a municipal lock-up or staying on the streets.

The new facility will be operated by Connections Health Solutions, an Arizona-based firm that operates similar centers in Phoenix and Tuscon, Ariz., Kirkland, Wash., and Chantilly, Va.

The company – which developed its clinic in Tuscon as part of that community’s response to the 2011 mass shooting outside a supermarket there that killed six people and left then-U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords seriously wounded – prides itself on a “no wrong doors” approach that allows it to accept nearly any patient, round-the-clock.

The company says it stabilizes most of its clients within its 24-hour treatment limit, and then provides or connects them to longer-term courses of treatment that results in very few ever ending up in jail or needing hospitalization.

The need for mental health care has surged in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Harrisburg and all over Pennsylvania, people tell of having to wait several months for a first appointment and to receive treatment and medication for a condition such as depression.

The Connections walk-in center could slash that wait down to hours.

But even if a person in crisis is simply taken to the nearest hospital emergency room, it can take hours – sometimes even days – for the appropriate staff to come in to evaluate them, and that whole time by regulation there is supposed to be a dedicated staff person there to keep them under observation.

That can lead to longer waits for people with pressing medical needs, who are now forced to wait outside the door.

Read more at PennLive.com

At a time of heightened uncertainty for immigrants in the U.S., two efforts at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health are focused on strengthening access to community mental health resources.

Both efforts involve connections with the Malden, Mass.-based Leah Zallman Center (LZC) for Immigrant Health Research, which works with partners—such as local immigrant communities, advocates, policymakers, and funders—to produce research aimed at spurring improvements in immigrant health and well-being.

Over the summer, health management student Jennifer Zhang, MPH ’25, did a practicum at the center and produced a policy brief on immigrant mental health that was finalized in November. The brief, created with colleagues at the LZC, summarized structural inequities impacting mental health among immigrants and proposed solutions.

Separately, a new collaboration between Harvard Chan School and LZC will address immigrant mental health and well-being through research, education, and partnerships with local groups. The work with the LZC—part of a new Harvard Chan initiative called Partnerships for Community Health and Immigrant Well-being—is being led by Maggie Sullivan, instructor and health and human rights fellow at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, and Jocelyn Chu, director of community engaged learning at Harvard Chan School, in partnership with the LZC.

The brief produced by Zhang and LZC colleagues outlined some of the life experiences unique to immigrants that pose risk factors for mental health, including trauma as a cause or result of migration, lack of access to health care services and insurance, lack of legal status, living in multigenerational households, and cultural and language barriers. Given these factors, it’s important to create tailored, trauma-informed, and culturally effective mental health services and policies to address immigrants’ unmet needs.

Read more at HSPH.Harvardhttps://hsph.harvard.edu/news/boosting-community-partnerships-for-immigrant-mental-health/

In the midst of the vast Pacific Ocean, U.S. Naval Hospital Guam is revolutionizing mental health care for America’s warfighters with a groundbreaking program that’s already transforming lives and enhancing military readiness.

Since starting operations in March 2024 and being officially designated as a clinic on Dec. 10, 2024, the Military Health System’s first Crisis Stabilization Unit, the hospital has successfully treated 246 active-duty service members experiencing mental health emergencies— with only two requiring medical evacuation and four needing mental health admission. These remarkable statistics underscore both the program’s effectiveness and the hospital’s commitment to delivering world-class care to service members on Guam.

“The CSU initiative is dedicated to the psychological readiness of our warfighters who deserve quality care in a timely manner no matter the platform or location,” said Cmdr. Francine Segovia, director for mental health at USNH Guam.

The unit’s success directly supports the hospital’s mission of projecting forward-deployed medical power and delivering high-quality care to strengthen warfighter readiness in the Pacific region.

Before the CSU opened, service members experiencing mental health crises faced limited options: either endure long wait times in a busy emergency room or schedule an outpatient appointment that could take weeks to secure. For those requiring more intensive care, medical evacuation off-island meant spending an average of four weeks away from their unit for treatment and travel and often required a non-medical attendant, resulting in up to eight weeks of total lost operational duties.

The CSU has dramatically changed this scenario by providing an alternative possibility for treatment. Operating as a “one-stop shop” for mental health care, the unit provides comprehensive services including assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, monitoring, referral, and transition services—all within a few hours.

Read more at Pacom.mil

A large number of policing hours are spent dealing with mental health crises, according to a new report by Kingston Police Chief Scott Fraser. Still, the number of hours between the apprehension of individuals who are a danger to themselves or others and the time first responders pass that person into hospital care creates the most significant burden on police, the chief explained.

Fraser presented his report, entitled “Mental Health Calls January 1 to November 30, 2024,” to the Kingston Police Services Board (KPSB) on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. Going forward, he intends to make such reports quarterly to help the board understand better and guide decision-making and advocacy.

The statistics not only track the number of calls but also delineate the number of individuals those calls were about, labelling them by contact frequency as “chronic presentations,” “repeat presentations,” or “new presentations.” Notably, the Patrol Division takes care of the vast majority of the calls, sometimes up to eight a day, with waits ranging from under 60 minutes to over six hours at the hospital.

Chief Fraser explained that the technology used by first responders during emergency mental health crisis calls is called HealthIM. Designed to promote safety for both the responder and the person in crisis, this software system is intended to improve outcomes for individuals suffering from unmanaged mental health challenges and to promote effective oversight.

A quick look at the HealthIM website provides an overview of the system.

Kingston Police cruisers each have a mobile data terminal (MDT), which officers use to access and enter information while in their vehicles. HealthIM is set up on the MDT to provide a pre-response safety briefing to the officers before establishing contact with a person in crisis. Responders review a brief synopsis of critical safety factors, including de-escalation techniques, known triggers, and contextual information compiled from any previous contact.

Once on scene, officers can complete a brief mental health screening (BMHS) using a phone application. The BMHS provides a rapid on-scene risk evaluation and uses clinically validated algorithms to evaluate the risk of harm and determine appropriate outcomes, according to HealthIM.

The main purpose of the chief’s report was to provide the Board with the Monthly HealthIM Analytics Report, which compiles key metrics and insights on the number and types of calls received.

Read more at Kingstonist.com.