NANTUCKET – Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Gosnold on Nantucket have partnered to launch a pilot behavioral health integration program meant to embed Gosnold’s behavioral health consultants in the hospital’s primary care practices.
The program aims to identify patients at risk for behavioral health issues in the primary care setting and develop a treatment plan before their issues become a crisis.
By embedding with the hospital’s primary care practices, Gosnold on Nantucket staff members will work with hospital providers to offer treatment and services without patients having to leave the comfort and familiarity of their doctor’s office, helping to further reduce the stigma and challenge of seeking help for behavioral health issues.
“Nantucket Cottage Hospital has been collaborating with Gosnold on Nantucket since December 2017, and the new pilot behavioral health integration program represents the next step in better serving patients and the island community,” NCH President and CEO Dr. Margot Hartmann said.
“We believe that this program will demonstrate patients are better served when behavioral health issues are flagged and treated as early as possible, and in a setting that allows them to have a free and open dialogue with providers and counselors,” Dr. Hartmann said.
“Our hope is that this pilot program will become effective and sustainable for both organizations,” continued Hartmann.
The program will feature the SBIRT model, a comprehensive, integrated approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment of patients with substance use disorders. SBIRT stands for “Screening, Brief Intervention, And Referral to Treatment” and is a model promoted by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
