Page 24 - LRCC May 2022 Focus

Bringing Mental Health Challenges to the Forefront

“Frequency is an important element of support because we providers in the Lansing area as a particularly challenging
have to stay engaged with and connected to our people,” problem. The tri-county region is currently short 13
said Mann. “People leadership is more important than ever psychiatrists. The use of telepsychiatry is helping by allowing
right now and, when it comes to interaction, frequency is providers from outside the region to provide assistance, but
the new currency.” the need exceeds the available resources.

Mann said that, as more people “It is still not enough,” said Dr. Peterson.
head to the office and the pandemic “We are really lacking resources to deal
continues to ease, organizations with problems in real-time. Outpatient
need to ease back into engagement waitlists are very long.”
activities that bring people together.
NEOGEN recently offered a chance for Dr. Peterson said patients checking
employees in Lansing to participate into the MGL emergency department
in an NCAA basketball tournament for psychiatric conditions will be
pool which drew rave reviews from the seen and evaluated. MGL does have
Mann participants. Peterson telepsychiatry in its ER and also its
community mental health partners.
“Any engagement activity right now feels so good,” said Once a patient is on the medical-surgical floors at the
Mann. “We must get back to doing those things because hospital, there is a “consultation-liaison psychiatric service,”
the impact of even small activities goes a long way and which includes a psychiatrist and two nurse practitioners.
helps all of us.” MGL also has an inpatient geriatric unit for patients 65 and
older. All these services focus on the mental health of their
HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS OVERWHELMED patients, but only while in the acute care setting.

The COVID pandemic hit hospitals particularly hard as “We are seeing a lot of anxiety, fear, hopelessness, and
emergency rooms and general beds were quickly filled and helplessness, leading to suicide attempts — all the signs
healthcare workers were continually overwhelmed. At the and symptoms you tend to see with major depressive
same time, COVID was stretching the healthcare system to disorders,” said Dr. Peterson.
the max and beyond. The mental health pandemic created
a double dose of pandemic-related illnesses. The mental health pandemic has caused healthcare
officials to shift their thinking about how they can more
At Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, the number of patients effectively meet the demand for behavioral health services.
visiting the emergency room with depressive and anxiety Dr. Baker said Sparrow has developed units in the hospital
symptoms, PTSD, substance use disorders, suicidal where patients being treated for mental health issues can
ideations, and suicide attempts has quadrupled since the be integrated into areas also servicing patients with other
pandemic began. Statewide, hospital beds for inpatient medical conditions.
psychiatric treatment are backlogged.
“Now hospitals are thinking out-of-the-box and developing
“This is absolutely mind-boggling to units they haven’t had before to address that increasing
administrators, the community, and burden,” said Dr. Baker.
society-at-large that the burden has
become of this magnitude,” said EDUCATORS MEETING THE MENTAL
Dr. John A. Baker, medical director, HEALTH CHALLENGE
Sparrow Behavioral Health.
The challenges of shifting to the virtual environment placed
Dr. Baker said the mental health enormous stress on the education system for students,
system is also stressed by the lack of teachers, and staff. Michigan State University’s (MSU)
Baker needed counselors, psychologists, and WorkLife Office supports the university’s 13,000 employees
psychiatrists to treat the booming by connecting and navigating multiple roles throughout
demand for services. the workplace, career, and life transitions. Like national
trends, MSU has seen a dramatic uptick in mental health
“We have so many retiring and we are barely keeping up challenges throughout the system.
with replacements,” said Dr. Baker. “It is getting harder and
harder for people to get treatment, particularly for those at “We’re seeing an increase, unfortunately, in child abuse or
the lower end of the socioeconomic scale.” family violence resource requests and we have had more
requests for support and referrals in the past two years than
Dr. Peterson, a psychiatrist, notes the lack of mental health we did in the previous three years,” said Jamie Hutchison,

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