Funded Projects

Problem:

The entire state of Wyoming is considered to be a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) for mental health services, with only eight child and adolescent psychiatrists currently licensed to provide services within state borders. At the same time, middle and high school students have reported steady increases in mental health needs, including anxiety, depression, and suicidality. All of this is compounded by a lack of recent data to inform how to even begin to address this problem.

Goals and Objectives:

GOAL 1: Improve access to pediatric mental health services via primary care providers in Wyoming.

• Objective 1.1: By September 30, 2022, develop an action plan to address barriers to accessing telehealth mental health care in a pediatric primary care setting.
• Objective 1.2: By September 30, 2022, establish a stakeholder advisory group with a shared mission and vision.
• Objective 1.3: By September 30, 2026, one pediatric primary care provider in each of fifteen counties with the highest need based on mental health HPSA scoring will provide mental health care diagnostic and treatment services in a primary care setting.
• Objective 1.4: By September 30, 2026, increase by 30% the number of children and adolescents who receive a mental health diagnosis and are referred to treatment for that diagnosis.
• Objective 1.5: By September 30, 2026, 50% of PPCPs in Wyoming will have completed at least one training opportunity on pediatric mental health provided by WY PMHCAP.
• Objective 1.6: By September 30, 2026, 30% of pediatric primary care providers will follow Bright Futures guidelines for pediatric well visits, including universal mental health screening.

GOAL 2: Develop necessary infrastructure to reliably access pediatric mental health care services, with a focus on geographically isolated and frontier populations.

• Objective 2.1: By September 30, 2026, 100% of enrolled providers will have all of the necessary equipment to engage in telehealth from their clinic location.
• Objective 2.2: By September 30, 2026, 100% of enrolled providers will be able to connect patients in need with necessary equipment to engage in telehealth from home.
• Objective 2.3: By September 30, 2026, 30% of patients connected to the Partnership Access Line (PAL) will receive support from the Referral Assistance Program.

GOAL 3: Establish common language and shared measurement standards to guide statewide efforts to improve pediatric mental health care access.

• Objective 3.1: By September 30, 2024, launch a pediatric mental health dashboard, including key indicators developed from existing data sources.

Methodology:

Wyoming already funds a telepsychiatry consultation service through Seattle Children's Hospital, the PAL. Despite the clear need for pediatric mental health services in Wyoming, pediatric providers do not regularly use this service. The PMHCAP team will conduct a needs assessment and develop training and technical assistance to encourage and empower pediatric providers to use this existing service, as well as develop a more robust referral system to support families needing assistance in connecting with mental health care.

Coordination:

The Wyoming Department of Health, Maternal and Child Health Unit (WDH-MCH) will coordinate this grant program in partnership with Wyoming Medicaid, University of Wyoming Project ECHO, and a stakeholder advisory group.

Evaluation:

WDH-MCH will contract out for evaluation services. Evaluation will assess training participation and learning, PAL usage, and the development of a public dashboard to share progress.