Alison Connelly-Flores is a certified physician assistant and chief medical information officer at Urban Health Plan Inc. in New York City. The onset of COVID-19 triggered a last-minute IT whirlwind, leaving Alison scrambling to devise, develop, and demonstrate the effectiveness of telemedicine services for the Urban Health Plan. Tasked with merging clinical and technological initiatives, Alison has worked around the clock to attain the federally qualified health center status for Urban Health Plan and remain financially competitive.
In September 2020, the Telehealth Certification Institute hosted a webinar titled, “Identifying and Resourcing Trafficking Victims” which featured leading voices in the field of anti-trafficking. This webinar sought to equip practitioners from multiple disciplines to identify trafficking victims both virtually and in-person as well as provide resources to access critical, trauma-informed care. This webinar also included CE hours for mental health professionals and covered information such as signs of trafficking, best practices for trauma care, how to be an effective mental health professional with trafficking survivors, and how to build therapeutic trust with trafficking survivors. Participants had the opportunity to submit their questions throughout the session and the panelists answered them live during the webinar.
Dr. Burton Tabaac has seen his fair share of emergencies as Medical Director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center in Reno, Nevada. Above all, he stresses the necessity of timely neurological evaluations as the difference-maker for stroke patients. Speaking with Ray Barrett, CEO of the Telehealth Certification Institute, Dr. Tabaac explains how the telehealth platform, TeleStroke, changes the way that patients receive emergency health services.
In severe neurological cases, every minute gone is a minute lost. TeleStroke connects experienced neurologists with patients who are undergoing the symptoms of a neurological crisis, cutting down the lag time when offering life-saving interventions. Dr. Tabaac describes TeleStroke as an exceptional off-site tool for neurologists.
Joel Miller and Angele Moss-Baker of the American Mental Health Counselors Association disclose details about the AMHCA’s newest publication—Beyond a Perfect Storm: How Racism, COVID-19, and Economic Meltdown Imperil our Mental Health—in a new interview with Ray Barrett. The authors integrated data from the US Census Bureau and the Center for Disease Control to emphasize the psychological, financial, and social repercussions of living through the COVID era. The AMHCA implores the behavioral health community to curtail the disruption fueled by COVID-19 through local and federal advocacy efforts. With a flood of challenges washing into communities, the AMHCA suggests the best way forward: a cohesive, integrative approach to mental health service delivery.
When it comes to pediatric healthcare delivery, most parents and professionals would agree that in-office urgent care visits can be incompatible with daily demands.
Dr. Amy Wise, DNP, ARNP, CPNP-PC, a pediatric nurse practitioner with over six years of experience, knows that respecting a family’s daily schedule makes a difference in how her patients feel. Through her virtual healthcare startup, Kovvy Health, Dr. Wise has improved patient satisfaction by allowing families to remain in their homes while seeking pediatric services. Her person-centered approach emphasizes the uniqueness that each family brings with them to her virtual exam room.
As a response to the recent uprise in racial trauma and police brutality, the Telehealth Certification Institute hosted a free, live webinar titled, “Racial Justice & Community Restoration: A Trauma-Informed Response to a Nation in Crisis.” This webinar included free CE hours for mental health professionals and covered pertinent information such as developing cultural competence and meeting the needs of racial minority clients; participants were also able to interact with the speakers and participate in this important dialogue during a live Q&A. Over 1,000 attendees had the opportunity to learn from leading experts in the field of trauma, racial reconciliation, and mental health.
Dr. Christina Strayer, Ed.D, LPCS, AAT, CCTP, DCC, RYT-200, provides education, consultation, counseling services, and telehealth services. She is an owner of Animal Assisted Therapy of the Triangle in Clayton, North Carolina as well as the lead instructor for the Animal Assisted Therapy Interventionist (AAT-I) credentialing program. In partnership with the Telehealth Certification Institute, Dr. Strayer teaches the AAT-I credential, which is completed as an online self-study and includes required reading and assignments. An optional in-person 2-day experiential intensive is held in a variety of farm and nature settings to help professionals understand the breadth and depth of location options to practice AAT.
In July 2020, Dr. Strayer spent some time with Ray Barrett of the Telehealth Certification Institute discussing mental healthcare with animal assistance, as well as the effect she has witnessed firsthand from requisite distance services from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In our interview with Dr. Laklieshia Izzard, LPC, ACS, shares why over 15 years ago she began providing telemental health services, how it has been a fit for her own self-care, and a fit for both her clients and supervisees.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that the coronavirus, COVID-19, will likely become a pandemic. They state that anyone in close contact with others with COVID-19, including healthcare workers, is more likely to be exposed to the virus. The CDC recommends using telehealth to prevent patients who can be cared for at home from going to healthcare facilities. They also recommend encouraging sick healthcare providers to stay at home, and they have made available infection control procedures for healthcare providers.
When a patient goes to a healthcare facility they are likely to encounter other people who are ill and seeking treatment. The best solution to the coronavirus is to limit the opportunities for it to spread. Telehealth is a great option to treat those who do not NEED to come to a facility for treatment, but who can receive adequate care at home.
Anyone can experience stress or sadness due to a variety of factors such as major life changes, work challenges, health or family issues, and a host of other challenges that can be short-term or long-term, intense or mild, frequent or seldom. People who have experienced trauma, anxiety, or depression are often unaware of the effects on their lives and on the lives of those around them; they can become accustomed to it. Some turn to alcohol or other substances in an attempt to “remedy” the symptoms, causing dependency or substance abuse. Because of this, healthcare teams create tools to assess and screen for these behavioral health symptoms.
We have compiled a list of Helplines according to various categories. We hope this can be useful to anyone looking for quick access to what could be life-saving information.
Online counseling (aka video counseling, virtual counseling, etc.) can be an excellent way to receive mental health care, and its use is growing for many reasons. If you choose to go this route, here are six steps to a quality video session with your mental health provider: