Philhaven, WellSpan affiliation moves forward
(Lebanon) — WellSpan Health and Philhaven – the 14th largest mental and behavioral health provider in the nation – announced the signing of an affiliation agreement that will enhance access to behavioral health care across south central Pennsylvania and improve care through the integration of mental and physical health.
The agreement now goes to regulatory review.
“Philhaven and WellSpan have a common mission and vision to improve the health of our community,” said Philip D. Hess, M.H.A., chief executive officer of Philhaven. “Together, we’ll develop more integrated models of care, treating the whole patient – body, mind and spirit – to achieve improved patient outcomes and better community health.”
Philhaven and WellSpan announced their intent to explore an affiliation in October of 2014. Over the past several months, the organizations completed a due diligence process to determine if an affiliation would benefit both organizations and, more importantly, the communities they serve. The affiliation agreement was approved by the respective volunteer boards of both organizations and will be
submitted for regulatory review.
Wellspan CEO had this to say about the affiliation:
“Both WellSpan and Philhaven have shown that we are committed to providing high-quality behavioral health services to the patients and communities we serve,” said WellSpan Health President and CEO Kevin H. Mosser, M.D. “This relationship will enable us to build upon our efforts to better integrate behavioral health and physical health in our patient care model.”
WellSpan added behavioral health providers to seven of its primary care physician offices in 2014 in an effort to better integrate mental and behavioral health needs with patients’ physical health needs through their primary care office. The affiliation with Philhaven will enable WellSpan to expand those integration efforts, said Philip D. Hess, M.H.A., CEO of Philhaven.
“We’re excited to work together in the family practice setting in order to better serve WellSpan’s primary care providers and patients,” Hess said. “If every time your family doctor asked you questions about feeling depressed or anxious and helped you understand how they may affect your physical health, you might feel more comfortable sharing about those areas that are troubling you. This would decrease the stigma that prevents people from getting help.”
Research demonstrates the effects of mental health on chronic diseases and quality of life. A 2009 study by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services concluded that participants with psychological distress were three- to five-times more likely to develop chronic conditions, including
cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. A 2012 Oregon State University study of 6,000 adults noted that those coping with a medical condition had a threefold higher likelihood to seek mental health services.
Philhaven’s Chief Nursing Officer, Heidi McMullen, MSN, RN-BC, noted that her staff sees many links between anxiety and asthma, migraines and stomach pain; or depression and diabetes, chronic pain and heart disease. Treating physical and behavioral health issues together creates a better path for patient wellness, she said.
This article comes to us through a partnership between Lebanon Daily News and WITF. A note of disclosure, WellSpan is an underwriter for Transforming Health.
