CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Stories of people struggling with mental health issues are heard almost daily. Now, Northwestern Medicine is launching a new partnership to make psychiatric care more available for people in their doctor’s offices.
The Northwestern Medicine West Health Accelerator aims to identify mental health challenges when patients come into primary care settings for physical issues — and then give those patients access to various treatments and services.
Dr. Lisa Rosenthal, a psychiatrist who specializes in consultation liaison psychiatry, said she wants mental health screenings to be as common as blood pressure testing.
She talked with WBBM at an event down the street from Northwestern Memorial Hospital announcing the accelerator.
Rosenthal said they see patients struggling with mental and physical issues at the same time.
“Somebody who’s had a heart attack, who also has an addiction,” said Rosenthal. “Somebody who’s coping with major depressive disorder and cancer, or somebody with dementia who’s agitated on the medical wards.”
Northwestern started this collaborative approach to diagnosis and treatment eight years ago and rolled it out at 75 of its primary care clinics this summer.
The nonprofit West Health is funding the $8.6 million partnership with
Northwestern and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.
It’s an effort to more quickly identify mental health issues that an estimated 1 in 5 adults in this country are living with.
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