19 SEPTEMBER 2024CXO INSIGHTSPartnering with Schools to Promote and Improve Mental Wellness in YouthThere continues to be a mental health crisis in youth. It is crucial communities work together to raise awareness and identify mental health issues in youth early. Educating families, expanding screening for mental health conditions, improving access and capacity for care, and ensuring evidence-based interventions and treatments are available to all youth are all important in a comprehensive approach to meeting the current needs of our youth.Families, schools, pediatricians, health care organizations and community stakeholders all have a role to play in supporting youth for mental wellness. For many years, mental health was not considered an important component of health and wellness. We already had a mental health crisis in youth before the pandemic, and throughout the pandemic, it was declared a national emergency by the government, hospital organizations, advocacy organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, schools, and parents.Efforts over the past few years have gained momentum, including the expansion of payments and services by health plans, expansion of models by telemedicine providers, digital tools using artificial intelligence and the CMS expansions that include the ability to be paid for services where youth spend most of their time, at school. However, the workforce still cannot meet the demand. We continue to have lots of work to do finding solutions to improve prevention efforts, early intervention and using treatments that ensure realizable and sustainable outcomes.We know that mental wellness has a direct effect on school performance, school attendance, optimal learning, disciplinary actions, social integration, and graduation rates to name a few. Recent data has shown more than 40% increase in students having feelings of sadness and hopelessness through the pandemic. Suicide rates continue to rise among 10­18-year-olds, and over 20% of students have considered suicide. Black, indigenous and students of color have had significant increases in mental health issues and often are referred to juvenile justice systems rather than to behavioral health programs. These students are also more likely to be suspended.Schools have run out of the capacity to meet the students' needs, which now is affecting both their learning and overall wellness. Traditional approaches at school allowed for students to receive services that met certain conditions that interfered with their learning (Individual Education Plans-IEP). Many students with mental health issues do not meet these requirements and often have great difficulty accessing services in the community. Lack of healthcare benefits, stigma, lack of parental ability to get them care, avoidance of care to not miss school time, families themselves have mental health issues, and lack of a coordinated system for care and support are all By Jeanne Marconi, Vice President, Clinical Integration, PM Pediatric Care
< Page 9 | Page 11 >