The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute Partners with West Health and Northwestern Medicine to Expand the Integration of Mental Health Care into Primary Care
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The Meadows Institute received $1.9 million from West Health to help implement the Collaborative Care Model across the Northwestern Medicine system
DALLAS – November 20, 2024 – The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, along with West Health and Northwestern Medicine, have announced the Northwestern Medicine West Health Accelerator, a groundbreaking collaboration that will greatly increase access to quality mental health care in a primary care setting.
With one in five Americans struggling with mental health needs, the Meadows Institute received $1.9 million from West Health to help people in the Northwestern Medicine system by offering quality mental health care in the same location and with the same doctor where they receive their physical health care.
This proven form of care is known as the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM), which allows a behavioral health care manager who works alongside the primary care doctor or pediatrician to screen for potential mental health needs. This approach has ensured that more people receive quality care before their needs reach a moment of crisis, and it has helped to address critical workforce issues by allowing a psychiatric consultant to provide care to eight times as many people.
“The Meadows Institute is honored to partner with Northwestern Medicine and West Health to expand quality mental health care to more than 350,000 people in the Northwestern Medicine system,” said Andy Keller, the president and CEO of the Meadows Institute. “The Collaborative Care Model is a proven, effective way to integrate mental health care with physical health care, ensuring that individuals receive the treatment they need as early as possible and have better outcomes.”
The Meadows Institute has been a leading voice to treat all people with mental health needs and has been a national leader in scaling CoCM across the country. Over the past five years, the Meadows Institute and its partners have expanded access to CoCM to more than 7 million people, treating more than 550,000 individuals with more than 120,000 in remission. The solution will soon reach 300 health systems nationwide and 65 million Americans.