Newport Mental Health Responds to Kids Count Findings

Newport Mental Health Golf and Give Back Tournament registration opens today amidst NMH President and CEO Jamie Lehane calling for more funding for mental health accessibility, especially in light of the 2018 RI Kids Count findings.

“We have Open Access where people coming here for the first time don’t need to have appointments to walk into our center five days a week. We have a 24/7 crisis line for people in emotional distress and so many other services that make access, prevention and recovery easier. But as the 2018 Kids Count survey shows, caseloads are skyrocketing while reimbursements from third party insurance providers are often delayed by 120 days or more. This makes running day-to-day operations extremely difficult.” Lehane said that only a portion of NMH’s programs and activities are supported through fundraising and charity events, such as NMH’s Golf and Give Back event slated for June 11 at Wanumetonomy Golf and Country Club.

“This is not only a Newport Mental Health occurrence, centers all over the state are experiencing huge caseloads, a much higher demand, and state budget cuts. The Kids Count message here is that with admittance to Hasbro twice as high and wait times for psychiatric appointments for children and teens taking longer, fundraising dollars just don’t stretch far enough,” he said.

“With the proper funding and reimbursement rates to us and other community mental health centers, many of these hospitalizations could have been prevented.”

Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count, recently released the 2018 RI Kids Count Fact Book, which highlighted the 462 teens who were admitted to Hasbro Children’s Hospital for psychiatric care in 2017 and faced a four-day wait period on average. This number is up from the three-day period and 212 child admissions in 2016. The report also stated that mental health treatment in Rhode Island is fragmented with a disproportionate amount of spending in “high level care and often a lack of adequate investment in prevention and community level treatment.”

Meanwhile Lehane said he hopes to hold a record-breaking fundraising year with the Newport Mental Health fourth annual Golf and Give Back Tournament on June 11.Donations and registrations are open to visitors at the NMH website:http:www.newportmentalhealth.org.

The mission of Newport Mental Health is to improve the lives of children, adults and families living and working in Newport County by providing the highest quality, recovery-oriented, evidence-based and integrated mental health and substance use care. NMH serves clients in Jamestown, Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton, and Little Compton. For more information, contact Sandy Oxx at 846-1213 ext. 109 or Jamie Lehane 846-1213 ext. 110.