Photo by Andrew Laker Columbus Regional Health Columbus Regional Health Vice President of Community Partnerships and Corporate Responsibility Julie Abedian is seen during an interview at Columbus Regional Hospital on Thursday, May 30, 2019.
Community members are invited to attend an event to announce a new partnership focused on mental health.
City officials say there will be an opening event at The Commons on April 5 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to celebrate the launch of a “community-wide initiative to address national issues and improve the mental health system for the well-being of Bartholomew County.” . The evening will include comments from experts and local leaders in healthcare, education and government.
The event was emceed by Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhope. Carl Lienhope, Bartholomew County Commissioners; Regional Executive Director Susan Cosell, Centerstone, Indiana; President and CEO Jim Bickel, Columbus Regional Health; Superintendent Jim Roberts, Bartholomew Unified School Corporation; and President Mark Stewart, United Way Bartholomew County.
Local leaders say the new initiative aims to address the mental health issues facing Bartholomew County and the surrounding area.
Last year, Columbus Regional Health’s Healthy Communities initiative is laying the groundwork for new mental health efforts, including pooling resources and staffing, CRH Vice President of Community Partnerships and Corporate Responsibility Julie Addian said in a previous interview. .
The mental health initiative — which is expected to involve Columbus city and Bartholomew County governments, as well as the county health system, local behavioral health system and local education system — is largely a collaborative effort. The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, or ASAP, is part of a community-wide effort to combat the opioid crisis and drug addiction launched in 2017, officials said.
Abedian said the push for the mental health initiative was a major milestone for CRH’s service area in the 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment.
The review:
- In the year From 2007 to 2009, 9.2 per 100,000 people to 19 from 2017 to 2019. The suicide rate in the service environment doubled from 2017 to 2019, with 2018 and 2021 assessments.
- In Bartholomew County, nearly 1 in 3 respondents have been diagnosed with a depressive disorder.
- There were far fewer mental health providers per capita in Bartholomew County than in the United States.
- In Bartholomew County, 25.9% of respondents rated their mental health as “fair” or “poor,” compared to 14.9% in 2018.
“We have a history of working together in our community to improve the health of our community,” Abedian said. Although the mental health crisis may seem overwhelming and overwhelming, we believe that if we address this set of issues in the same way that we deal with the opioid crisis and infant mortality, it will have a positive impact. The mental health of our community.”