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PROGRAM PROFILE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES
In July of 2004, Missouri Highlands Health Care began providing behavioral health services. Patients referred from within our clinics network and from external professionals and entities receive individual therapy and counseling. Our therapists are Russ Lacewell, MSW, ACSW, and Diane Silman, MSW, LCSW. Regular contact is maintained between our therapists and medical practitioners.
Dan Barbour, Ph.D. is our behavioral health clinical director. His doctoral emphasis is in school psychology. Through relationships established with various public schools in our area, Dr. Barbour visits and provides counseling and testing services to students who are referred.
For more information about our program, contact Big Springs Behavioral Health at (573) 663-2977.
MISSOURI HIGHLANDS HEALTH CARE A new service that will take shape in the summer of 2005 is telehealth. Through an arrangement made possible by the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Missouri Primary Care Association, telehealth and telecommunications equipment are being installed at our offices in Ellington. In the future, we plan to establish relationships with specialists in psychiatry, dermatology and other disciplines at medical institutions in larger cities. Access to telehealth linkages can be an enormous convenience, giving our patients access to certain specialty consults without leaving our immediate service area.
For more information about telehealth, please call (573) 663-2977.
PROGRAM PROFILE HEALTH DISPARITY COLLABORATIVES
In November of 2004, MHHC opened its doors to health disparity collaboratives (HDC). We are among several across the nation that are participating for the first time in a health disparity collaborative.
The HDC movement is a national effort fostered by the Department of Health and Human Services to minimize the disparities in care that exist across geographic regions, and among various age ranges, genders, ethnic groups, and socio-economic categories. At a local level, a health disparity collaborative is an organizational approach to caring for people with chronic disease in a primary care setting. The system uses a Care Model that emphasizes evidenced-based, planned, and integrated collaborative chronic care, and works to improve the quality of interactions between the patient and practice team.
HDC activities involve patients more actively in the management of their disease; encourage self-management goal setting and connections with community resources; follow current standards of care; and create electronic registries for population-based analysis of chronic care.
Missouri Highlands Health Care's first disease collaborative effort focuses on the clinical diagnosis of depression. Depression is one of several HDCs currently encouraged and supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration, a branch of the federal government. Other HDCs address such diseases as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
The population of focus for our depression HDC was initiated at our Big Springs Medical Clinic in Van Buren. In late 2005 and early 2006, new processes we learn about the care of patients with depression will be spread to other clinics in our network. Eventually, we anticipate participation in other disease collaboratives, as well. For more information, contact Dee Freeman, RN, our CQI Coordinator and HDC Team Leader, at (573) 663-2313. PROGRAM PROFILE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EDUCATION
Part of our mission statement reads, "Missouri Highlands Health Care supports programs that improve community health status and that promote healthy behaviors within our population." It is by design that the word community is so prominently displayed.
In February of 2003, we renewed our emphasis toward community health and education with the employment of Stacey Keeney, RN. In her position, Stacey is involved in a number of community-based activities that promote healthy behaviors and lifestyles within our service area. She facilitates and participates in community groups involving emergency medical professionals, school nurses, head start programs, health departments, and others. MHHC is the fiscal agent for various grants received to address and improve community health status.
For more information, please contact Stacey at (573) 663-2525.
PROGRAM PROFILE
The Big Springs Dental Clinic opened September, 2002. We knew the service would be busy, though we had little idea how compelling the need really is. It had been several years since a dentist was available in MHHC's service area to provide care to all patients regardless of their income or insurance status. Our schedule was filled almost immediately, and the clinic continues to be booked no less than four months in advance.
Stephen Waller, DDS, is our dental director. He practices full-time in the Big Springs Dental Clinic. James Russell, DDS, practices part-time with us. Both have more than 20 years experience in dentistry and are well respected for their skill.
Elective patients are seen as our regular schedule permits. Emergency patients are seen as quickly as possible. Criteria for a dental emergency include: (1) acute pain and/or swelling for an extended period of time; (2) trauma associated with broken teeth, which is accompanied by acute pain, loose teeth, swelling, and/or bleeding; (3) cleaning and medication for ANUG; (4) equilibration of teeth in traumatic occlusion.
For more information, please contact our staff at the Big Springs Dental Clinic. The telephone number is (573) 663-3177.
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