Huntsman Mental Health Institute to expand mental healthcare in rural communities

Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) will increase access to critical mental healthcare services in rural communities throughout Utah with support from Cambia Health Solutions. Cambia has committed $1 million to HMHI as part of its larger $11.5 million philanthropic donation to nonprofit organizations in Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The funding will help meet urgent behavioral and mental health needs intensified by COVID-19, HMHI said.

“This is an important lead gift from Cambia that will assist with the development of comprehensive, sustainable mental health and substance abuse services across the state,” said Dr. Mark Rapaport, CEO of HMHI and chair of the University of Utah’s Department of Psychiatry. “With these additional resources, we can focus on building innovative programs to address provider shortages and reach communities with high needs.”

According to the nonprofit organization Mental Health America’s 2021 report, Utah ranks last in the nation for adult mental healthcare access due to the lack of practitioners available to treat the population. Provider shortages affect people’s ability to access appropriate care and Utah’s rural communities are significantly impacted.

Data from the Gardner Report on Utah’s Mental Health System show that Utah’s urban areas had 171 mental health full-time professionals per 100,000 population in 2015. Rural areas, however, only had 141 mental health professionals per 100,000 people. The report suggests that Utah must more than double its mental health workforce over the next 15 years to keep up with population growth and move mental health provider ratios closer to the national average.

Cambia’s donation will allow HMHI to develop a rural communities’ needs assessment and create new solutions to serve as tests of change for workforce development. Based on the assessment findings, HMHI will place psychiatry residents and fellows in rural communities and provide school-based psychiatric consultation. HMHI will also partner with the UofU Department of Educational Psychology to support school staff and youth with mental health needs in 10 schools. The grant will allow the department to provide training, mental health screening, individual and group therapy and consultation.

“We’re honored to support Huntsman Mental Health Institute as they tackle the growing need for mental and behavioral health services across our communities,” said Peggy Maguire, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at Cambia Health Solutions. “We believe our investment will help break down the stigma surrounding mental health, improve access to behavioral support services, support people in emotional distress and positively impact the overall health and wellbeing of the Utah communities we proudly serve.”