Wabash Community Health Center and Array Behavioral Care are pleased to announce a new partnership to increase access to behavioral health care for the residents of southern Illinois. This new program ensures individuals in these communities have access to timely, quality psychiatric care. Through this service, patients can connect with experienced and licensed telepsychiatry clinicians skilled at diagnosing and treating depression, autism, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia.
“The entire Wabash Community Health Center team works hard to provide the best possible health outcomes for the patients we serve,” said Cathy Ruth, Program Director of Wabash Community Health Center. “Mental health is a vital part of individual health and wellbeing, and we believe that telepsychiatry can help patients get the care that they need. There’s a great need for mental health services in our area, and we’re proud to improve access to care as we meet the health needs of the communities we serve. That’s why we’re excited to offer this new innovative service through our partnership with Array.”
As one of the earliest advocates of telepsychiatry more than 20 years ago, Array has advocated for updated policy and regulations that increase access to telepsychiatry in homes, hospitals, and primary care offices for patients and clinicians. Telepsychiatry is mental and behavioral health care delivered using real-time videoconferencing in a secure, private place. Research shows that the quality of care is maintained through telepsychiatry and has been found to be as effective as in-person care. Array’s telepsychiatry clinicians are licensed specialists and trained in providing quality care through technology.
Wabash Community Health Center is a federally qualified health center located at The Depot in Mount Carmel, Illinois. The onsite care team will connect seamlessly with Array’s s on-demand psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse practitioner. This virtual integration will enable Wabash Community Health Center clinicians and staff to work with a remote psychiatric specialist to conduct remote psychiatric consultations, prescribe medication, and deliver peer-to-peer consults resource to support strained and overextended in-person staff.
Telepsychiatry is a safe and effective way to meet the escalating need for behavioral care, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide shortage of mental health professionals. There is a significant scarcity of mental health professionals throughout Illinois, causing many residents to not receive the treatment they need. According to research by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, only 24 percent of the need for mental health services is being met in Illinois. In Wabash County specifically, the ratio of population to mental health providers is 340:1.
“Wabash Community Health Center serves as a critical healthcare provider in southern Illinois and Array is pleased to partner with them to offer telepsychiatry services to the vital portion of the population who seek care with them,” said Jennifer Comerford, Vice President of Scheduled Care at Array. “Telepsychiatry is a great solution, in states and communities across the country where there is significant mental health need and a shortage of trained professionals.”
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About Array
Array Behavioral Care is the nation’s leading clinician-centric virtual psychiatry and therapy practice with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care, from hospital to home, through its OnDemand, Scheduled and AtHome divisions. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community health care organizations and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.
About Wabash Community Health Center
Wabash Community Health Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality, affordable health care to all members of our community - which means we treat patients regardless of their ability to pay for services.
Our health center provides primary care and behavioral health services and is located in Mt. Carmel, Illinois at 1001 N. Market Street. The Wabash Community Health Center received Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) look-alike status by Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). Federally Qualified Health Centers are community-based health care providers that receive funds from the HRSA Health Center Program to provider primary care services in underserved areas.