MOUNT VERNON — Moundbuilders Guidance Center has found a new way to offer psychiatric care in the middle of a state sorely lacking in psychiatrists — by turning on the television.
For a year and a half, Moundbuilders has used a video conferencing system to facilitate patient care and increase communication between staff at the Newark and Mount Vernon locations. The video system, provided through a 2006 grant from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, has helped changed the nature of mental health care in Knox County.
“There is a shortage of psychiatrists across Ohio, and one thing we’ve learned is that it’s difficult to recruit people to leave urban areas,” said Wendy Williams, executive director of the Community Mental Health & Recovery Board of Licking and Knox Counties, the organization that secured the OHF grant on Moundbuilders’ behalf. “With this technology we hope we can access physicians anywhere in Ohio. They wouldn’t need to physically come to Newark or Mount Vernon, but we can tap into their expertise.”
Using the video system, which is called “Connect the Docs,” doctors at Moundbuilders in Mount Vernon and Newark can communicate with clients who may be hospitalized in another part of the state. The videos also make staff meetings more convenient, eliminating the need for workers to drive between the Mount Vernon and Newark locations.
“We’re saving money,” said Patrick Evans, Moundbuilders CEO. “Now we don’t have to drive to hospitals in Athens or Columbus, and our clinical director in Newark can meet with staff in Mount Vernon without needing to physically travel.”
Evans said the Moundbuilders staff is still learning how to use the video system most effectively. But he also said the system has been well-received by clients.
“The doctors probably had a harder time with it than the clients did. Our clients just appreciate receiving service they might not have had otherwise,” he said.
Williams has been happy with the system, and she expects Moundbuilders to use it more in the future.
“The Ohio Department of Mental Health recently changed a few standards that will allow us to use video conferences for more direct services,” she said.
Evans agreed that the video link has been helpful in light of the shortage of mental health care providers in Ohio.
“It provides people who live in rural areas with easier access to doctors,” he said. “Using a video conference to meet with clients is a fairly new idea. We were one of the first to do it.”
Evans and Williams agree that the video system has proven to be a very useful tool, one which should continue to help Moundbuilders provide convenient care.
“We’re not expanding the number of doctors available, but we can improve access to the doctors we do have,” Williams said. “It takes away the distance barrier.”