Mental Health Workgroup

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Charge

The SCHSAC Mental Health Workgroup will:

  • Examine current literature on the public health role in the promotion of good mental health and the prevention of mental health problems.
  • Conduct an environmental scan of current activity to address mental health within the public health arena, and identify gaps across state agencies, including the Departments of Human Services, Education, Veterans, Housing and others as appropriate.
  • Develop recommendations for needed public health models and/or policies as they relate to mental health across state agencies and their local partners.
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Background

Mental health is an important public health issue. It is closely related to the health of children, chronic diseases, premature deaths, behavioral issues due to human made and natural disasters as well as poverty, racism, poor housing, and lack of education that are fundamental determinants of health; we can collectively address these issues when we incorporate strategies to address social determinants. The focus of addressing mental health needs across the continuum should incorporate a prevention, treatment and recovery model.

SCHSAC will examine how MDH and local public health can play a leadership role in raising public awareness about mental health issues, including disparities and develop a policy agenda with respect to mental health. By clarifying the public health role in mental health, state and local public health officials will be better able to work collaboratively with other agencies, e.g., health and mental health care, education, human services, community-based organizations to focus “upstream” on primary and secondary prevention activities, and to provide leadership in numerous mental health policy discussions, including:

  1. Identifying and strengthening local public health’s role in primary prevention for mental health.
  2. Integrating mental health and Health Homes, vis a vis the Affordable Care Act section 2703, which are specific to high needs populations, well as the work that Health Care Homes have done to incorporate the needs/certification/payment models for people with chronic conditions in primary care settings.
  3. Working with the Governor’s Health Reform Task Force to ensure that mental health needs are addressed.
  4. Participating in the 10 by 10 initiative to reduce premature death/increase the lifespan for persons with a mental illness.
  5. Working with the Community Transformation Grant that includes system changes to improve mental health outcomes.
  6. Participating in the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) Diamond model for treating depression in primary care settings, reimbursing providers and collecting quality measures.
  7. Reviewing the implications of the findings from the Adverse Childhood Events Study (ACES) to develop public health priorities and inform preventive strategies.
  8. Implementing the recommendations of the Maternal Child Health (MCH) Taskforce recommendations for infant, child and adolescent mental health.
  9. Demonstrating productive alliances between public health and mental health systems, e.g., suicide prevention, mobile crisis response teams, environmental health impacts on mental health and DHS’ Strategic Prevention Enhancement (SPE) grant to align Mental Health Prevention with Substance Abuse Prevention and Primary Care.
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Methods

A SCHSAC workgroup will be convened consisting of SCHSAC members, local public health department and other state agency representatives, as well as interested community stakeholders/content experts as needed. The workgroup will be staffed by MDH and will begin meeting in the spring of 2012.

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Members

  • Nancy Schouweiler, Chair, Dakota CHB
  • Sue Abderholden, National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI)
  • Ellen Benavides, Minnestoa Dept. of Health Assistant Commissioner
  • David Benson, Nobles County CHB
  • Joan Brandt, St. Paul-Ramsey County CHB
  • Angie Bellanger, White Earth Nation
  • Thomas Clifford, Carlton-Cook-Lake-St. Louis CHB
  • Bobbi Cordano, Wilder Foundation
  • Nancy Houlton, Minnesota Council of Health Plans
  • Larry Kittelson, Horizon (Douglas-Grant-Pope-Stevens-Traverse) CHB
  • Harlan Madsen, Kandiyohi County CHB
  • Ann Meyer, Guild Incorporated
  • Todd Monson, Hennepin County CHB
  • Dave Hartford, Minnesota Dept. of Human Services Assistant Commissioner
  • Carol Schefers, Wright County CHB
  • Lt. Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon, Ex-officio member, Governor’s Office

State Leadership Team

  • Jeanne Ayers, MDH Assistant Commissioner
  • Nancy Carlson, MDH Office of Emergency Preparedness
  • Maggie Diebel, MDH Community and Family Health
  • Jackie Dionne, MDH Director of American Indian Health
  • Mary Manning, MDH Health Promotion and Chronic Disease
  • Patty Wetterling, MDH Health Promotion and Chronic Disease
  • Glenace Edwall, DHS Children’s Mental Health
  • Emily Engel, Minnesota Management and Budget
  • Kevin Evenson, DHS Alcohol and Drug Abuse
  • Cynthia Godin, DHS Adult Mental Health
  • Nick Puente, DHS Alcohol and Drug Abuse
  • Dave Schultz, DHS Adult Mental Health

Minnesota Department of Health Staff to Workgroup

  • Phyllis Brashler, MDH Office of Performance Improvement
  • Gail Gentling, MDH Office of Performance Improvement
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Products

Potential products include the articulation of the role of public health in the promotion of good mental health and the prevention of mental health problems, an environmental scan of current activities to address mental health within the public health arena, and recommendations for needed public health models and/or policies as they relate to mental health.

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Meetings and Materials

Click on a meeting date to expand it and see the meeting materials.

December 12, 2012

September 7, 2012

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