Behind the Scenes at the Health Foundation

Most people probably wonder what goes on behind the scenes at the Health Foundation. One thing the senior program officers do is write annual focus area reports that we present to our Board. My report on the Severe Mental Illness focus area always occurs in December. For me, these reports are difficult to do. It involves looking back over the past year's work and writing a concise summary for Board members, none of whom are professionally involved in the mental health field. My 2009 focus area report can be found on our web site at http://www.healthfoundation.org/publications/documents/Severe%20Mental%20Illness%20Dec%2008-Nov%2009.pdf

For part of my report this year, I compiled a list of all the mental health evidence-based practices that the Foundation has helped start in our region over the past 10 years. I was surprised to count 49. The most frequent evidence-based practices implemented were Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams (we helped start 10), Supported Employment programs (8), and Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) teams (7). Of the 49 projects, 41 no longer receive grant funds from us; i.e., these grants have closed. Of the 41 closed grants, 35 are sustained for a sustainability rate of 85%. To me, this is pretty impressive.

Evidence-based practices are not easy to implement. For one thing, current payment systems are often not adequate to support evidence-based practices. Additionally, it takes a huge commitment on the part of organizations to carry out the training and monitoring necessary to meet fidelity to the practices. I appreciate the efforts of the many organizations that have worked so hard to bring the many evidence-based practices to our region and worked hard to find ways to sustain these practices in difficult economic times. To me, the efforts are worth it because hundreds of people with severe mental illnesses now have increased access to proven, effective treatment.