Bold move saves kids
One in five children have behavioral problems.
Couple that with the shortage of mental health professionals in 88 of Nebraska’s 93 counties and too many of the state’s children are left untreated.
Now, meet Joe Evans, Ph.D., director of psychology at UNMC’s Munroe-Meyer Institute.
Evans has established 16 behavioral health clinics in rural Nebraska since 1997.
The first opened in Columbus, Neb., after travelling genetics clinics revealed a lack of behavioral health providers in smaller Nebraska towns.
Therapists began making rural rounds once a quarter to serve the underserved. It helped, but wasn’t enough.
“In terms of behavioral changes, you can’t accomplish much if you’re just seeing a family four times a year,” Dr. Evans said.
So he made a bold move and began to place psychologists within rural pediatric and family medicine primary care clinics - a concept most had never heard of before.
The reason: when a doctor makes a referral to an outside psychologist, only 25 to 47 percent of people follow through with the appointment. Compare that to 82 percent who follow through when the psychologist is in-house.
“Unfortunately, there’s a stigma that comes along with receiving behavioral health services in small towns,” Dr. Evans said. “Along with that, families won’t attempt to access services if they have to travel too far. We’ve got to go to them.”
In the past year, MMI psychologists have provided more than 5,000 treatment sessions to patients from 225 Nebraska communities. In addition, MMI behavioral health practitioners train students to do the same in the smaller towns’ local colleges and universities.
Because of Dr. Evans nationally recognized work, Nebraska leads the country in meeting behavioral health needs in rural areas.
Still, he isn’t satisfied.
“We want to blanket the state so that there is access for all Nebraska families,” he said. “Our goal is to place a psychologist in every pediatrician’s office outside of Omaha and Lincoln. We’re already halfway there.”
