\u201cThis collaborative approach ensured broad community input and representation during the planning process and will allow for ongoing feedback throughout implementation,\u201d she said in the news release.<\/p>\n
The initiative is expected to create pilots for innovative new programs and expand existing services.<\/p>\n
Vital Spartanburg\u2019s actionable goals focus on certain key populations: youth and families, plus those living with severe mental illness or substance use disorder, health officials said.<\/p>\n
The plan recommends a range of community-based strategies, including awareness campaigns, referral systems among health care partners, expanding the mental health care workforce and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith one in five adults experiencing mental illness each year, the need for connected, coordinated care in our community has never been more urgent,\u201d Dr. Ebony Gaffney, executive director and medical director of the Spartanburg Area Mental Health Center, said in the news release. \u201cThrough Vital Spartanburg, we have an opportunity to meet people where they are and strengthen partnerships across systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emergency departments in Spartanburg treat more than 5,000 people each year whose needs could have potentially been addressed earlier through access to mental or behavioral health care, the news release said.<\/p>\n
Opioid overdoses and overdose deaths remain at historically high levels in the region, according to health officials. They said many young people and adults across the county struggle with feelings of sadness and hopelessness.<\/p>\n
Some of the county\u2019s most vulnerable residents, such as those experiencing homelessness or substance abuse disorders, face significant barriers to care, the release said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMental and behavioral health challenges are affecting individuals, families, workplaces and schools across Spartanburg County, making this one of the most urgent issues facing our community today,\u201d Phil Feisal, Spartanburg Regional’s executive vice president and system chief operating officer of the Hospital Group, said in the news release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThis collaborative approach ensured broad community input and representation during the planning process and will allow for ongoing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[64,63,137,404271,514,34245,515,73875,404268,404270,34753,404269],"class_list":["post-831057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-mary-black-foundation","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-health-crisis","tag-mentalhealth","tag-nonprofits","tag-spartanburg","tag-spartanburg-regional-healthcare-system","tag-suicide-prevention","tag-vital-spartanburg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}