Read our new series: Transforming Behavioral Health Care
Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter. View the latest news and updates from Providence's Well Being Trust below.
August 24, 2023
New Feature Story Series:
Transforming Behavioral Health Care
Learn more about Providence's Well Being Trust Innovation and Transformation Grants totaling nearly $5 million. The funds support programs that increase access and improve mental health and well-being for all. This month, we're featuring the new crisis receiving center opening this fall in Missoula, Montana, and a new mental health peer support initiative for gender diverse communities throughout Seattle, Washington and surrounding communities.
New crisis receiving center opening in Western Montana
Montana-based Providence St. Patrick Hospital recently received support from Providence’s Well Being Trust to help launch a new a crisis receiving center serving Missoula and surrounding western Montana counties. The crisis receiving center will provide services to men, women, and non-binary individuals 18 and older.
The crisis receiving center will provide a safe space and trauma-informed care for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. To honor cultural traditions, the crisis center will have a dedicated space for patients to perform traditional smudging with sweet grass or sage. During the first year, the crisis receiving center will provide support and resources to an estimated 4,000 individuals.
"The crisis receiving center will create access for Western Montanans regardless of their ability to pay or residency."
- Jeremy Williams, RN, BSN, director of behavioral health, Providence St. Patrick Hospital
Expanding mental health care for transgender; gender diverse patients
Providence Swedish Behavioral Health is developing a partnership with LGBTQIA+ community mental health providers and organizations to address the isolation and lack of community connections that contribute to poor mental health among transgender and gender diverse communities.
As part of this initiative, the team is designing a peer support program and establishing support groups targeting specific populations, including transgender and gender diverse BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities, and an all-inclusive/general group for transgender and gender diverse people.
"We at Swedish want to partner with our transgender and gender diverse community-based organizations and leaders to provide them with the resources we have available to augment their services."
- Dr. Kevin Wang, medical director, Providence Swedish LGBTQI+ Program
SPOTLIGHT
New resource from Work2BeWell supporting youth mental health
The National Student Advisory Council of Work2BeWell has created a new State-by-State Mental Health Resource which is designed to serve teens across the country as a hub for improving and maintaining mental health.
Specific resources, which include hotlines and contact information for local mental health organizations, are available for all 50 states. There are also additional resources of national scope, and each has been clinically vetted by Dr. Robin Henderson, chief executive, behavioral health for Providence Oregon and Work2BeWell chief clinical officer.
"It’s not enough to provide students with only national resources. They need to know about services and resources available in their local communities. I’m proud of all the students who put in the work to create a local mental health hub for their peers.”
- Dr. Robin Henderson, chief executive, behavioral health for Providence Oregon and Work2BeWell chief clinical officer
The Global Flourishing Study launches open access of sample research data
The first sample dataset from the Global Flourishing Study (GFS) initiative is now available to researchers, with the project’s initial full dataset scheduled for release in the coming months through the Center for Open Science.
The GFS is a $43.4 million, five-year study of over 200,000 people in 22 countries to measure global human flourishing in six areas:
Happiness and life satisfaction
Mental and physical health
Meaning and purpose
Character and virtue
Close social relationships
Material and political stability
It is the largest study to look at factors contributing to people and societies flourishing. This initiative is a partnership among researchers at Baylor University and Harvard University, along with Gallup and the Center for Open Science.
SAVE THE DATE
October 3-4: The Kennedy Forum will host the Alignment for Progress Conference
On October 3-4, 2023, The Kennedy Forum will host the Alignment for Progress Conference which will include a celebration and thoughtful discussions among stakeholders.
As October 2023 marks the 15th anniversary of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy signing the Community Mental Health Act of 1963, this two-day event will use the past as a lens through which we will plan the way forward.
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