This is the third in a series of articles that highlights how care centers are working to sustain mental health as part of specialized cystic fibrosis care.
Challenge
The pediatric team at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University embedded mental health coordinator, Shaina Blair, LCSW, into the team in 2016 to offer screening and care for anxiety and depression. Knowing that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Mental Health Coordinator Award, which initially underwrote the mental health coordinator role, was time-limited, Center Director Rachel Linnemann, MD, sought other funding sources as well.
Approach
To sustain the center's ability to provide mental health screening and care, the team began preparing for the expiration of the CF Foundation grant funding via quarterly meetings with key institutional leaders about mental health sustainability. Blair said, Dr. Linnemann, “continues to make a strong value-based argument around the need for mental health care in a way that aligns with our organization's broader mission” in making the case for salary support.
At the same time, the team contacted the organization's funding and development department and secured philanthropic giving for mental health coordinator salary support. The combination of grant and philanthropic funding and use of a no-cost extension helped the team stretch grant funding beyond its initial expiration to sustain the mental health coordinator role.
Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Blair attributes having a center director, “who values the mental health coordinator role and is committed to keeping mental health as a part of every big picture conversation about CF care with administration” as an important factor in sustaining mental health services in their center. She also cited the contributions of William “Randy” Hunt, MD, center director of the adult CF program at Emory University. Advocating for support from leadership has involved:
- Capturing data to detect clinical improvement in screening as a result of in clinic mental education and intervention
- Presenting patient satisfaction results in center-wide meetings to get buy-in from multiple stakeholders
- Using mental health data to inform other center quality improvement initiatives, such as informing relevant interventions for patients with rapid pulmonary decline or approaching health care transition
The team intends to continue the multi-pronged approach to fund the mental health coordinator role until it is a permanent part of the care team while also integrating mental health further into CF care. In 2019, Blair began offering tele-behavioral health sessions to CF adults to increase overall utilization of mental health services within the center's adult program. Blair says that mental health care is, “more seamless now, but it has been a gradual shift over the years. It now feels like a natural part of CF care.”