More than a year of pandemic living has had a crippling affect on our collective mental health.
About 33% of Americans reported experiencing pandemic-related anxiety or depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Since last March, 13% of people reported starting or increasing abusing substances, such as alcohol or drugs, to cope, and nearly 11% considered suicide.
At Johnson Memorial Health, more than 1,000 people have been served by its mental health access program.
“The current COVID pandemic has cast a dark shadow over many lives and has added a layer of trauma and additional barriers to overcome,” said Tricia Duncan, community health navigator at Johnson Memorial Health.
In an effort to address the ongoing mental health needs of the community, the Johnson Memorial Health Foundation started a public fundraising campaign helping people get the services they need. “The Drive to Come Alive” aims to support patients and the community by increasing access to mental and behavioral healthcare.
The public fundraising effort by the foundation will allow the hospital to provide front-line, urgent evaluation of patients facing a mental health crisis. A professional navigator will line up immediate behavioral health services for the patient, and follow-up to monitor their conditions.
“There is a stigma with mental health, and we wanted to break down that stigma,” said Kelsey Kasting, executive director of the Johnson Memorial Health Foundation. “One in 10 adults report symptoms of anxiety or depression or some sort of mental health issue in their life. Those people can’t always get the help that they need, so we wanted to be sure we could connect our patients and community members to these services.”
The Johnson Memorial Hospital Foundation is an organization with a goal to raise charitable funds to benefit Johnson Memorial Hospital in improving the health of the community. The foundation has provided health-related education and services for the hospital and throughout the community for more than 30 years.
Some of its work includes funding scholarships for emerging health care leaders, providing hospital departments with resources for programs and equipment, and partnering on community health outreaches.
After Johnson Memorial Health started seeing a greater need for mental health services, the foundation started supporting efforts to focus on that in 2017.
“The physicians on our board brought this to our attention a few years ago, before the pandemic,” said Doug Stewart, president of the foundation board. “They told us they had patients who were desperately needing mental health services, but navigating the system for help was often difficult. Our board agreed to step in.”
A fundraising gala was organized and held annually, allowing Johnson Memorial Health to hire more mental health care professionals.
But with the pandemic, the focus on mental health has become even sharper.
“This has been a challenge for mental health providers across situations, as agencies have stretched to meet the needs of others while attempting to cope with the exact same issues themselves,” said Kimberly Beck, licensed clinical social worker for Johnson Memorial Health.
This year’s gala was held virtually, and organizers decided to launch a continued public fundraising campaign to further support services at the hospital.
“We knew we still needed and wanted to fund the mental health program here at (Johnson Memorial Health), so we decided to do a virtual gala,” Kasting said. “With a virtual gala, we knew we wouldn’t have as much of a reach as what we normally have with an in-person event. So we wanted to piggy-back from the gala and run a digital campaign so we can tell the story about the difference we’re making with mental health here at JMH.”
Money raised through “The Drive to Come Alive” will be used for a wide variety of continued and expanded services. When a patient having a mental health crisis comes to the hospital in any department, they will be given an urgent evaluation to determine exactly the right specialists to help.
A mental health care navigator can be assigned to the patients, assisting them in managing appointments and receiving immediate care. Funding from the campaign can ensure that navigator is on site additional days, Kasting said.
Mental health professionals will also follow-up with the patients to see what else they might need and answer any additional questions.
The campaign also extends existing programs, such as ongoing awareness initiatives to end the stigma around mental illness and addiction, making care more accessible and increasing community support for those suffering from mental illness.
Donations to “The Drive to Come Alive” can be made securely online at the foundation’s website, or can be mailed to the foundation at 1125 West Jefferson Street, Franklin, Indiana 46131. All donations go directly to the mental health services program and qualifies for tax deductions.
“We’ve only seen an increase in the people who are needing these services,” Kasting said. “More people are suffering anxiety and depression, and it’s far-reaching. It’s not just the people who have had COVID who are suffering trauma, but the caretakers and family members are, too.”
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The Drive to Come Alive
What: A public fundraising campaign to support patients and the community by increasing access to mental and behavioral health care.
Who: Johnson Memorial Health Foundation, an organization that raises charitable funds to benefit Johnson Memorial Hospital in improving the health of the community.
How to contribute: Donations to “The Drive to Come Alive” can be made securely online at the foundation’s website, johnsonmemorial.org/come-alive.
Donations can also be mailed to the Johnson Memorial Health Foundation at 1125 West Jefferson Street, Franklin, Indiana 46131.
Information: johnsonmemorial.org/come-alive or call 317-346-3703.
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