E85 Transformative Approaches in Mental Health: Access Insights from Mark Bontrager, MSW, JD

Welcome to the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show where today we're diving deep with Mark Bontrager, MSW, JD, Senior Director of Behavioral Health Services at Partnership Health. They cater to approximately 930,000 members, a third of whom are young people. Mark's focus is to ensure behavioral health services are accessible to all members who need it, including efforts like funding substance use navigators in emergency rooms and partnerships with schools to bring more services where needed.

Mark kicked off his career in social work, impacting lives in the child welfare system before shifting gears into law to drive even more change. After years advocating for better adoption and special education laws, he's now at the forefront of managed care, steering major changes in behavioral health services.

At Partnership HealthPlan of California, Mark and his team ensure that mental health services reach as far and wide as possible, including in Northern California's vast mix of urban and rural communities. His efforts are grounded in a simple, powerful principle: Everyone deserves to be heard and get the support they need.

Our conversation with Mark reveals his dedication to bridging the gap between prevalence rates of significant mental health impairment in young people and their utilization rates of treatment. We learn about his passion for identifying and understanding the barriers that hinder people from accessing mental health services, his continual effort to reduce stigma around these services, and encouraging people to seek help.

Mark shares how, through creative partnerships with schools, they have been able to make healthcare services more appealing to the youth. For instance, through the establishment of student-run and student-designed behavioral health wellness spaces, and the opportunity for students to serve as peer mentors to reduce the stigma circulating mental health and connect students.

Mark discusses how they invested a year working in tandem with schools on a needs assessment to find out what the schools identified as their needs. The interventions were then chosen by the schools themselves, with the health plan offering support along the way.

You'll Discover:

Innovative Mental Health Initiatives: Learn how Mark's team is revolutionizing access to mental health care with projects like student-run wellness spaces and substance use navigators in ERs, aiming to make support more accessible and destigmatize seeking help.

Meaningful Collaborations: Discover the impact of strategic partnerships between healthcare providers and educational institutions, tailor-made to address specific community needs and foster positive outcomes for students.

Tech in Healthcare: Dive into how technology, from tablets in emergency rooms to phone and SMS communications, is transforming the delivery of mental health services and improving patient engagement and treatment continuity.

The Power of Human Connections: Uncover the essence of Mark’s belief in relationship-based healing and its profound effect on recovery and growth within healthcare settings.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to delve deep into Mark's story, his perception of the modern challenges facing healthcare access, the potential of telehealth, and the compassion that fuels his motivation to make a significant difference.

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This episode is a journey into how creativity, partnership, technology, and human touch are reshaping mental health care.

We're eager to hear your thoughts! What's your take on the expansion of telehealth and introducing healthcare services right where students spend their day - in schools? Share your pers