We have come a long way

"Ten years ago none of us would have been sitting together in a meeting."

This remark was made by someone at a roundtable discussion on integrated care hosted by Talbert House. The guest of honor was Cristal Thomas, Regional Director at the Region V Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The topic was the integration of behavioral health and primary care. Attendees included mental health centers, federally qualified health centers, the health department, and others interested in integrated care.

Ten years ago, folks from behavioral health and primary care would probably never have even thought about meeting to discuss integrated care. Back then, the mind and body were seen as totally separate and treated in very different systems of care with little or no collaboration.

Early on, the Health Foundation recognized that people with severe mental illnesses had terrible health from anecdotal reports from grantees. Later, studies confirmed this and indicated that people with severe mental illnesses die 25 years sooner than the general population. There are many reasons for this disparity, but lack of access is one of the reasons.

The Foundation decided to promote integrated care and has been a pioneer in the field. Its first integrated care grant was in 1999 and the project started delivering primary care services on-site at mental health centers in 2000. In the last 10 years, there has been increasing interest in the way behavioral health and physical health affect each other. And, there is increasing realization that treating the whole person (behavioral and physical) leads to good overall health and more effective use of resources.

We have come a long way, but there is still a ways to go. There are many barriers to integrating behavioral health that need to be addressed. However, now there is interest in integration at many levels - local, state, and national. We are fortunate that we had the opportunity to share our work with Ms. Thomas who has a high-level position at HHS. We are also fortunate to have many people in our communities who recognize the importance of integrated care and are willing and eager to work together to implement integrated care programs, tackle barriers, and provide holistic care to some of our most vulnerable citizens. Thanks to all of you for your hard work!