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Hiawatha Behavioral Health facing pandemic challenges

Sault Sainte Marie Evening News - 5/26/2021

May 19—SAULT STE. MARIE — In the midst of Mental Health Awareness Month, Hiawatha Behavioral Health is encouraging those who are struggling to get help.

"The last year has been especially difficult for all people," said Dan McKinney, CEO of Hiawatha Behavioral Health. "Nearly 40 percent of Americans have indicated experiencing some level of anxiety and or depression related to the pandemic. The stress involved in an emergent situation like the pandemic coupled with the isolation that is often involved has contributed to a rise in the need for mental health services."

McKinney said Hiawatha has noticed a significant increase in calls to its crisis line. The organization has provided crisis services for 688 individuals in the last year and conducted 292 screenings for inpatient hospitalization this past year, compared to 232 the year before. Currently, the mental health service is providing services to 862 individuals and families. Compared to two years ago, Hiawatha was serving 774 people.

Hiawatha Behavioral Health has also experienced difficulty in attracting and retaining a qualified workforce, from direct care workers to case managers and masters level clinicians. This has been an issue for the last few years and has been exacerbated thanks to the pandemic.

"This past year it has been increasingly difficult to maintain an adequate level of staffing," said Laura Bailey, human resources manager for Hiawatha Behavioral Health. "The rising workload and the safety risks for persons served and for staff has increased stress associated with caring for our clientele. At times, staff were called on to work extra shifts and at times seven days a week due to staff illness and quarantine. Even with a shortage of staff, our employees ... (are) an amazing group of people who are used to stepping in and stepping up when times are tough."

With the difficulty in attracting high quality staff, Hiawatha Behavioral Health has expanded its talent search nationwide. Psychiatrists, therapists and other mental health professionals from Texas, Florida, Kentucky and lower Michigan have been utilized, allowing the organization to select the best qualified specialists in the field.

To address the increasing demand for services and to help improve quality of care, Hiawatha Behavioral Health expanded their mode of service delivery. For those individuals who may be more susceptible to illness or less comfortable coming into the office for face-to-face sessions, Hiawatha has expanded tele-therapy services and has also increased telephonic contact with the people it serves, according to Courtney Grant, manager of outpatient and emergency services. Hiawatha Behavioral Health has been utilizing teleconferencing services for over 15 years and the pandemic has allowed an expansion of services and improved its level of expertise.

Grant explained that Hiawatha has partnered with the emergency department staff at War Memorial, Mackinac Straits and Schoolcraft Memorial to be able to provide inpatient crisis screening through virtual means when needed.

"Throughout this time, it has been the resilience of the people living with mental illness that has been so impressive," Grant said. "The people we serve have battled adversity much of their lives. In a way, that has equipped them to be more prepared for an emergency, like the pandemic."

In addition to the local efforts to expand and improve mental health services, the state of Michigan has recently enacted certain measures to augment the provision of care for behavioral health services as well. There is a recognized shortage of acute care beds for inpatient psychiatric care. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is in the process of developing a psychiatric bed registry. This is an electronic program that tracks inpatient psychiatric openings and relays the information regarding these openings to community mental health providers throughout the state in real time.

The Department of Health and Human Services has initiated a pilot combination crisis line/warm line service in the Upper Peninsula Region. This mental health phone in service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to anyone in need of crisis services or in need of verbal support.

Hiawatha Behavioral Health serves individuals who have a diagnosed and persistent mental illness, individuals with diagnosed developmental disabilities and children with serious emotional disturbance regardless of insurance or ability to pay.

"People often don't understand that we are restricted to admitting only certain people for services," Grant said. "We would love to be able to serve individuals with mild to moderate mental health needs, but we do not have the resources to do so and we are not funded to provide these services. We always do our best to link those we are not able to serve with community providers. Nearly 90 percent of the individuals arriving at our doors after screening are admitted for services. Those who are not admitted because they do not meet criteria are referred to other providers in the area."

Grant adds that emergency services are open to who may be in crisis regardless of severity of illness. Emergency services can be reached by calling (906) 632-2805 24 hours a day or going to the nearest emergency room.

For more information on Hiawatha Behavioral Health, visit www.hbhcmh.org.

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