Positive mental health is essential to a child’s development from birth, yet one in five children will experience a mental health disorder in a given year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In conjunction with Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week (May 1-7), Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS) is unveiling a statewide partnership with University of Florida Health (UF Health) that uses telehealth technology to pair CHS’ counselors with licensed psychiatrists to improve access to care.
Telehealth is a growing trend in mental health, especially where psychiatrists are in short supply. “For families receiving Medicaid, access to child and adolescent psychiatry specialists is especially difficult,” according to Christine Certain, director of program development for CHS.
“A wait list of four to six weeks is not uncommon. Our partnership with UF Health reduces that wait time to 24 hours, in most cases.”
The telemedicine services are provided by licensed psychiatrists enrolled in UF Health’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship program. Currently, six doctors are participating with two more coming on board in July. Telehealth services are available from seven CHS service locations in Pensacola, Panama City, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach and Miami. In its first six months, the program provided services to 115 children.
Research has shown that treatment outcomes using telehealth services are no different than direct contact. Indeed, for children who have grown up with technology, CHS’ telehealth program and face-timing with a doctor does not seem unusual.
One particularly heartwarming example illustrates the normalcy of the interaction. “There was a 7-year-old boy in Panama City who had been waiting a very long time to see a psychiatrist,” Certain explained. “At the end of his telehealth appointment, the young boy got up and hugged the computer screen.”
“The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry team at UF Health is excited about this partnership, which aligns with the University of Florida’s missions of clinical excellence, education and service,” said Kishan Nallapula, M.D., clinical assistant professor, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida. “Our senior child and adolescent psychiatry fellows provide their expertise for the benefit of underserved Florida communities where there is limited access to care and, in return, receive training and experience using telemedicine systems before becoming independent practitioners.”
“Telepsychiatry programs will only continue to grow in the future because electronic platforms have become an inseparable part of human interactions in our current society,” Nallapula added.
About Children’s Home Society of Florida
On the front lines since 1902, Children’s Home Society of Florida is the oldest and largest statewide organization devoted to helping children and families. Children’s Home Society of Florida serves more than 50,000 children and family members throughout the state each year. More: www.chsfl.org.
About UF Health
University of Florida Health, the Southeast’s most comprehensive academic health center, is a $3.42 billion operation under the governance of the University of Florida. UF Health spans two campuses — Gainesville and Jacksonville — and consists of six health colleges, two major teaching hospitals and nine major research centers and institutes. UF Health is headquartered in Gainesville, where the colleges and several hospitals and research centers are located on UF’s main campus. More: https://ufhealth.org/.
