Eugenia Center of Chehalis, Washington, has partnered with Array Behavioral Care, a national telepsychiatry service provider organization, to offer telepsychiatry services to children, adolescents and adults in their community seeking mental health care and treatment.
Chehalis, WA – Eugenia Center, which provides substance use disorder and behavioral health services for children, adults and families in Lewis County, Washington, recently introduced a telepsychiatry program in partnership with Array. This new program ensures individuals in the Chehalis and Mossyrock communities have access to timely, quality psychiatric care. Through this service, patients can connect with Kimberly Cotton, an experienced psychiatric nurse practitioner specially trained in providing quality care through technology and skilled at diagnosing and treating mood disorders and a variety of mental health issues including substance abuse, PTSD and eating disorders among children, adolescents and adults.
Eugenia Center Launches Telepsychiatry Program in Lewis County, WA, to Improve Access to Mental Health Care Services
Telepsychiatry is mental and behavioral health care delivered through real-time videoconferencing in a secure, private place. It is a safe and effective way to meet the escalating need for care, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the WA State Department of Health recently released its forecast of behavioral health impacts from COVID-19. Although the forecast may change depending on a potential second wave of infections, current models predict that 2-3 million WA state residents will experience behavioral health symptoms over the next three to six months. Currently, depression rates and suicides in WA are increasing dramatically and are expected to peak in the Fall and Winter of 2020.1
Mental health has been a top concern in Washington even before COVID-19 struck. According to Mental Health America, Washington is ranked 45 out of 50 states and Washington D.C in terms of the rates of prevalence of mental illness and access to mental health care.[1] Of the approximately 7 million people living in the state, 5% of adults live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression with many more living with any mental illness such as depression or anxiety. Only 12% of the state need for mental health services is met [2] Only 44.4 % of adults with mental illness in Washington receive any form of treatment from either the public system or private providers (according to SAMHSA). The remaining 55.6% receive no mental health treatment.[3] In Lewis County, where Eugenia Center is located, there is one mental health provider per 400 individuals so many are not receiving the help that they need.[4]
“Accessible mental health care is more important than ever as many people in our area and across the country grapple with the mental health effects of COVID-19. We recognized the growing need in our community and are excited to be able to offer this innovative new service to our patients. We are dedicated to increasing access to psychiatric care to anyone in our community who would benefit from it. This new telepsychiatry program will bring additional access to mental health services to the Chehalis and Mossyrock communities and surrounding areas. Given the shortage of psychiatry providers in our area and across the state, we believe telepsychiatry is a way to ensure our patients with mental health and substance use disorders get the quality care that they need,” said Fabiola Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer at Eugenia Center.
“Telepsychiatry gives communities unprecedented access to mental health care specialists. We are pleased to partner with Eugenia Center to offer this service. Telepsychiatry is a great solution, not only in Washington, but also in many other states across the nation where there is significant mental health need and a shortage of psychiatry providers,” said Bridget Mitchell, Vice President of Scheduled Services at Array.
About Eugenia Center
Eugenia Center is the only non-profit Substance Use Treatment Center in Lewis County, located at 151 N Market Blvd, STE C, 151 N Market Blvd, STE C, Chehalis, WA 98532. In response to the increased need for Mental Health services in our community, Eugenia Center opened a Behavioral Health Center in 2017. Our mission is to lead in providing quality care that is accessible and to support the dedicated professionals who make caring for the clients we serve their number one priority. At Eugenia Center, we serve every individual with dignity and respect and make every effort to provide services and resources to all in need, regardless of their social or economic situation. Eugenia Center offers prevention, intervention and treatment services consistent with the principles of the Twelve-Step fellowships. The services are provided along a continuum of care consistent with the needs of each individual. To learn more, visit www.eugeniacenter.org or call 360.948.0203.
About Array
Array Behavioral Care (formerly InSight + Regroup) is the leading and largest telepsychiatry service provider in the country with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care from hospital to home with its OnDemand Care, Scheduled Care and AtHome Care divisions. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community healthcare organizations and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.
1 (2020). Retrieved 15 July 2020, from https://stateofreform.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DOH-BH.pdf
[1] Overall Ranking. (2020). Mental Health America. Retrieved 2 March 2020, from https://www.mhanational.org/issues/ranking-states
[2] Mental Health Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). (2019). The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved 2 March 2020, from https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/mental-health-care-health-professional-shortage-areas-hpsas/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
[3] Mental Health Resources in Washington | Resources to Recover. (2020). Rtor.org. Retrieved 2 March 2020, from https://www.rtor.org/directory/mental-health-washington/
[4] County Health Rankings & Roadmaps | County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. (2020). Countyhealthrankings.org. Retrieved 2 March 2020, from https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/washington/2019/rankings/lewis/county/factors/overall/snapshot