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- UMMC will use the funds to ensure those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have access to mental health care, especially in rural areas of Mississippi.
More than $13.4 million in federal funding is being allocated to the University of Mississippi Medical Center to bolster mental health programs in the state.
Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced the approval of the allocation by the Mississippi Development Authority on Thursday. The Community Development Block Grant funding is made possible under the CARES Act.
The funding gives UMMC extra resources to build telehealth capacity, provide support for workforce training in the areas of specialized mental healthcare and ultimately provide more access to mental health treatment for the state’s youth, particularly in underserved areas of the state.
“Mississippi is putting this funding to work in a way that delivers real help to our children and students,” said Governor Reeves. “Through the deployment of these funds, we are expanding access to mental health care, strengthening the behavioral health workforce and making better use of telehealth so families, schools and communities can be sure Mississippi’s young people have the help they need when they need it. These investments are an important reminder of our commitment to health care today and to the future of our state.”
The funding will be split between six programs, all of which have a focus on providing services to young people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the total monies allocated to UMMC, just over $3.4 million will go to Universities Network of Integrated Telemental Expansion Clinics to connect students attending UMMC and other public universities in the state to free mental health services by covering personnel and marketing campaign expenses.
The Child Access to Mental Health and Psychiatry Program will utilize $3.1 million to cover UMMC’s personnel, training and data management upgrade expenses to provide mental health services to children in low-income homes.
Another $2.8 million will be provided to the Mental Health Workforce Training Program to cover UMMC expenses in staffing and training for those who provide psychology, social work and mental health services to young people up to 24 years old, specifically in rural and other underserved parts of the state.
The Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program is expected to use its $1.4 million allocation to establish close to three dozen scholarships for students who promise to work in underserved areas of the state upon graduation.
Also, $1.4 million is being allocated to the Mississippi Community Engagement Alliance for the training of health professionals, members of the community and education professionals to identify and serve students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the youth within the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians who may be experiencing a mental health crisis.
Finally, the Substance Use Disorder Telehealth and Education Program will receive $1.2 million to educate and screen young people for substance use disorder in K-12 schools, clinics and colleges and universities. Affected individuals will be referred to identified treatment options, which could include telehealth.
Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs at UMMC, said the hospital greatly appreciates the state’s investment in the mental and behavioral health care of youth and young adults.
“These grants enhance our three-part mission of health care, education and research through programs that provide needed care to our most vulnerable children, support training of future mental health professionals to fill gaps in care and open opportunities for health care providers to discover best practices for treatment of mental health and substance abuse disorders,” Woodward said.
Jeremy Pittari
