Help Navigating the Mental Health Maze
Joe Simitian
Fmr. State Senator, State Assemblymember, County Supervisor, Mayor/Councilmember, and School Board President/Trustee
People who need mental health help—for themselves, a friend, or a family member—are already in a world of hurt. Sadly, these folks often encounter a disjointed, complicated, or bureaucratic health care system, making a difficult situation even worse.
Even before COVID-19 impacted our lives, the demand for mental health and substance use services in our County was high, with more than?33,000 County residents with serious mental illness or substance abuse disorder using our behavioral health system.?The pandemic—with its resulting isolation and economic consequences—has intensified these challenges.
What I hear too often is that folks really need a guide, so I proposed creating a team of “Navigators.”?I’m pleased that my Board colleagues agreed, voting unanimously to develop a Mental Health Systems Navigator Program to help people find the right path to treatment, and then stay on it.
The notion of ‘Systems Navigators,’ which has successfully been used by the County’s Emergency Agency Network (EAN) partners, is designed to provide a one-stop shop for guidance—in this case for mental health services.
Using a Navigator is envisioned as a way to connect patients and their families to a range of County and County-contracted nonprofit services, and when appropriate, identify private resources. When possible, that includes finding help in the communities where patients live.
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Following established privacy protocols, trained County Navigator staff will be available to listen to concerns, assist with information and referrals, and ultimately eliminate some of the obstacles preventing a person in need from accessing services—or direct patients to professionals who can do so.
The end goal is to connect patients with the resources that best fit their needs, provide support, and troubleshoot if the first referral isn’t the right fit.?In addition to Board approval, my proposal also received support from Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, Behavioral Health Contractors’ Association (BHCA), and Momentum for Health.
Over the last year, more than 40,000 people accessed the County’s behavioral health system and about 4,500 have accessed the County’s addiction and substance use services, representing a 13% increase over the previous year.??
The average wait time for?our County’s Call Center, where residents can access behavioral health services, is about ten minutes, but some?residents can wait for over an hour.?That’s not acceptable. We’ll never know how many ran into a barrier and simply gave up.
We can always do more to help these people and their loved ones to access the services they need and are entitled to.?Mental Health System Navigators, by guiding patients through and around barriers, can help them get the treatment they need, and get their lives back on track.
RN Chronic Disease Case Management/Clinical Risk Prevention
3 年The biggest problem are those with severe mental illness. We need mandated treatment for people who are not able to function in society, who are harming themselves and others. We need 1,000 plus acute and subacute beds. Community treatment is for higher functioning people with mental illness, who take their medication because they do NOT have Anosognosia. The biggest problem is that the sickest are not getting treatment. The longer a person is allowed to go untreated the more brain damage there is and the worse their condition becomes. The law and no access is killing people who could otherwise be productive. They are sent to the streets to die. The definition of gravely disabled is beyond absurd and open to anyone's interpretation. It is evil not to treat people who are unaware of their inability to function. They are homocidal and suicidal many times and still discharged without care. Whose pockets are the blood and pain of this population and their families lining? The Supervisors are a big problem, because they refuse to listen to the most urgent of health needs. Patients with Dementia are treated against their will, because their minds are not functioning, why is it different for a person in mania, or psychosis?
Yes. This is definitely needed. Thank you so much for your advocacy .
Behavioral Health Leadership Consultant
3 年The system is indeed complex, and families often feel shut out of the process. The financial disincentives to treat acute care conditions has led to the situation of severely ill humans in our jails and our streets, which have become institutions without walls. Hospitals with rare exception do not meet the standards that they should in order to optimize treatment outcomes, help generate wellness/hope, fully engage families, and provide the right follow-through treatment. Navigating through this maze will help -- , but the system remains fundamentally flawed and in need of an entire restructure.
Vision, Strategy & Transformation for Healthcare & Community Impact
3 年Appreciate your #advocacy and support of #mentalhealthawareness across County programs Supervisor Joe Simitian