Everyone. This is Jacob Emerson with the Becker's
Pay Your Issues podcast.
Thrilled today to be joined by doctor Matt
Hereford, who is the president and CEO at
Community Care Behavioral Health, which is a part
of UPMC
Insurance Services. Doctor Herbert, thanks so much for
taking the time to be with me on
the podcast again.
It's a pleasure to be back. Thanks, Jacob.
Yeah. Absolutely. And before we dive into everything
we wanna talk with you about, can you
reintroduce yourselves for our listeners? Tell us a
little bit more about your career background, and
then give us an overview of what you're
doing today at Community Care Behavioral Health.
Sure. I'd be happy to.
I'm Matt Hereford. I'm a psychiatrist
by training. I'm currently the president and CEO
of Community Care Behavioral Health.
That's one of UPMC
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
insurance service division's companies.
We're focused on supporting
the mental health and substance use disorder recovery
for over 1,000,000 Pennsylvanians
that are covered under Medicaid in Pennsylvania.
We work with 43 of Pennsylvania's sixty seven
counties,
to do that work and partner with thousands
of providers and practitioners,
in support of our members' health journey.
Prior to joining UPMC
about ten years ago, I was the chief
medical officer for the city of Philadelphia's Department
of Behavioral Health and have worked in,
some pretty diverse mental health settings, including city
environments, public community mental health centers,
and even a stint with the Indian Health
Service,
in Arizona.
Fantastic.
So, Matt, as you know, May is Mental
Health Awareness Month. Talk to us a little
bit about how UPMC
is supporting members, supporting patients,
through what is a very important month to
recognize.
Yeah. This is such an important,
time of the year. Of course, at UPMC,
we we really feel that every month should
be mental health awareness month, but it is
an opportunity
every May as a country for us to
really shine a additional spotlight
on the important role that mental health plays
in the whole health and wellness
of people, including our members. And so there's
a bunch of things that we're doing. I'm
really excited
about them because I think, the needs are
great, but the opportunities
are are even greater.
So we're, very much aligned with,
Mental Health America's theme for Mental Health Awareness
Month, this year, which is turning awareness
into action.
Mental Health America is a leading
consumer driven organization,
and
their focus,
on turning awareness into action aligns very well
with how UPMC
is prioritizing
going from,
not just raising awareness and education about the
important role of mental health, but really helping
to make that an important difference in people's
lives.
And as a payer who's part of an
integrated
delivery and finance system,
we think about this at three different levels,
all of which are oriented towards improving the
health and well-being
of our members. So we think about it
at the staff level, our team members, the
provider level, all of the practitioners and folks
that are in our network, as well as
the community level.
Let me talk a little bit about some
of the ways in which some of the
things that we'll be doing this month and
throughout the year, at each of those three
levels.
It really starts with our staff.
We know from the data, but also just
from common sense, that when people's mental health
is addressed
and really optimized,
they're gonna be happier, more engaged, and more
effective ambassadors for mental health for our members.
And we wanna make sure that we are
messaging to our staff the importance
about their mental health in their whole health.
So we, provide short and longer form education
about mental health that can be little bite
sized,
sort of lunch and learn type of,
educational opportunities as well as on demand content
that they can access at any time. We
provide incentives for our staff to engage
in,
healthy activities that promotes mental health and and
and physical well-being throughout the year.
And we also make sure that staff know
that we've got a really great employee assistance
program that is available to them if they're
covered under a health plan at any time
to help, you know, with their
mental health. It could be anything from problems
of living every day into, you know, mild
to moderate symptoms of depression or anxiety or
other ways that stress might be impacting their
lives. So it really does start with our
team, and we wanna make sure that we're
prioritizing
them so they can be the most infect
they can be the most effective,
supports for our members.
But the other, of course, key
resource for our members are our providers.
And we have we're fortunate in Pennsylvania
and where UPMC
works that we've got fantastic
mental health treatment providers.
But our goal is really to broaden this,
and we wanna think not just about a
single front door for mental health. We want
an entire
health care neighborhood
so that we can engage people whenever, wherever
there's an opportunity
to do so. So we do that through
expanded
trainings around things like integrated care. So we're
working with our primary care partners
and specialty
non behavioral health providers
to improve their rates of things like screening
for depression, anxiety,
suicide, and substance use disorder.
That improves our ability to identify folks that
may have unmet or undermet
mental health needs and follow-up with them so
that we can get them into treatment or
supports or just give them information about mental
health.
And then finally, that third level is
or at the community level. So
simply put, we can't do this alone. No
one in health care can. We need
everyone,
engaged in this
from everything from identifying somebody who might be
struggling out there in the community that hasn't
yet come to the attention of the health
care system,
to folks that are gonna be following up
with people once they perhaps leave care.
And vast majority of people spend their lives
not in a doctor's office,
not in, an inpatient
psychiatric facility or in a drug and alcohol
rehab facility. They spend it out in their
communities, at their jobs, with their families,
in their places of worship, or
playing baseball or softball. And so we've engaged
with lots of non traditional stakeholders who are
trusted ambassadors, trusted stakeholders within the community. One
example is we're working with barbers and stylists
who
came to us and said, listen,
a lot of people are talking to us
about their mental health. They're telling us they're
feeling depressed or anxious. They're even talking about
things like suicide.
We wanna know more about these mental health
topics so that we can tell them how
to get help. So we have a program
where we call Our Hair, where we work
with those barbers and stylists. We train them,
we educate them,
and they really become mental health
ambassadors in their communities. And they can,
not just do use techniques like motivational interviewing,
to help support their clients,
but in that theme of going from awareness
to action, we also set up a concierge
phone line so that they can then give
that
number right back to, their clients and help
connect them to formal treatment resources if that's
something the client's interested in. And this has
been a really effective strategy. We've replicated it
in a number of communities across Pennsylvania,
and our evaluation research shows that not only
do those barbers and stylists
feel more empowered,
and more educated to help their clients, but
folks from that those communities end up accessing
more mental health and substance use disorder treatment.
So it's been a great technique for us
to go,
and kind of expand that whole neighborhood I
was talking about earlier where we can engage
folks around their mental health needs.
Absolutely. And it's such a good reminder, Matt,
that the that the mental health of your
staff and your employees is just as important
as the mental health of of the people
that you serve and all the communities
that UPMC operates in.
If we're backing up for a second for
our audience, can you expand for us on
some of what you're seeing from from the
perspective of one of the nation's largest integrated
care delivery and financing systems? What are some
of the most pressing needs in mental health
right now in May of twenty twenty five?
Yeah. Well, we've got a a lot of
challenges. That's for sure. I mean, coming out
of the pandemic, we have seen some alarming
trends as it relates to suicide,
particularly in some,
certain demographics like, older white males.
That continues to be a real struggle,
for large segments of the population.
And I would say also,
children's mental health, if you kinda move to
the other end of the life cycle continuum,
is really a growing concern. And we've got
things like social media playing a really outsized
role
in the social and emotional well-being,
of our young people.
And,
a large portion of them, were deprived some
of the social interaction opportunities
during COVID lockdowns, etcetera,
and just may not have,
been equipped with the same,
tools
and opportunities
to engage with,
not only their peers, but also,
with support systems
at school or elsewhere. Excuse me. Around their
emotional and and and social well-being and health.
So we see in some of that, some
trends related to,
higher rates of depression,
higher rates of anxiety,
and in some communities, some elevated rates of
self harm behavior.
And so these are areas where,
again, we need everyone at the table. So
not just in our role as a health
plan, but working closely with providers,
particularly those that are engaging directly with, schools,
with child welfare, with other services and supports,
that really helped to wrap
around the entire lives of young people. And
then the third area, I think,
is really around social isolation.
So, we know from, the prior surgeon general's
communications,
just how important social isolation,
and social connectedness
in are in our overall health and well-being.
And a lot of attention has been focused
on the role of social isolation in older
adults, and that's an area of significant concern,
especially as,
lifespans
do increase.
Older people are finding that more of their
support structures and systems, their peers, their friends,
their partners, or spouses
may have passed away.
And with people living
in very in in less concentrated areas, they
may not have immediate family nearby.
But this issue really extends, again, across the
life cycle.
And helping people to understand the important role
that social connectedness, meaningful social relationships
is such an important,
year long priority. But mental
health awareness month really gives us a a
unique opportunity,
once a year to draw attention to this
because it makes sense to people. That when
folks are isolated, whether it's you yourself or
somebody you care about,
we often see it reflected in somebody's mood.
So it's not something you need to have
gone to graduate school to wrap your head
around. It really does just make sense, and
the solution is pretty obvious too. Pick up
the phone, ask somebody out to lunch, maybe
spend less time on the computer or behind
a screen and and get out and engage
with your community or or go for a
walk with friends. Pretty simple solutions,
but the data and evidence is
quite compelling
about how much that can help somebody's overall
health and well-being.
Absolutely. And I hear you loud and clear.
And I wonder if if you have any
advice to offer in terms of how can
people be more empowered around their individual mental
health, Matt? How can people get over that
hump of taking that first step,
toward towards bettering themselves?
Yeah. Well, you know,
so pun fully intended, but I I think
sometimes we can get a little too much
in our heads about all this mental health
stuff. And and I I mean, we really
don't need to overthink this.
Most people who have mild to moderate symptoms
can do a lot of things on their
own right now to greatly improve their mental
health. Things like improving their sleep, the quality
and quantity of sleep,
getting regular exercise,
helping to have a better overall healthier diet,
and as we talked about just moments ago,
increasing the amount of meaningful, healthy social interactions
and engagement.
All of these things are evidence based interventions
that help your mental health, but you don't
need a prescription. There's usually no co pay,
and there's no known side effects to any
of them. They tend to be low cost
or free as well.
So it really does check all the boxes
for a great intervention.
And there's loads of resources. So at UPMC,
if you're a member of our health plan,
we have all sorts of resources on our
website,
where members can go and learn about the
kinds of exercises,
some of which are, you know, more aerobic
exercises like running and weightlifting, but also simple
things like yoga,
mindfulness meditation,
deep breathing, etcetera, all of which can be
really helpful. And same goes for things like,
diet and nutrition and, and how to improve
your overall sleep. Limit your caffeine, limit your
use of alcohol,
and eliminate,
illicit drug use. All of those things,
are not just healthy in and of themselves,
but they can improve your sleep, which can
improve your overall health.
So this some of this stuff,
can be hard because it's habit changing and
habit forming.
So it falls under category of it's simple,
but not necessarily easy.
But that really beats complex,
and hard.
So, good news here, lots of tools available
to people,
to kinda find the motivation.
And once again, Mental Health Awareness Month, great
opportunity for you to do a mental health
check-in for yourself.
Find out how you're doing. Really ask yourself
candidly and honestly, how am I feeling? Do
I have more good days than bad days?
And educate yourself about some of the things
you can do. And then finally, I would
just say,
do and think about
mental health as you would any other health
concern in somebody you care about. So if
you saw that somebody was coughing or lip
sick or had a new limp, you you
wouldn't think twice about reaching out,
or commenting and saying, hey. Are you feeling
alright? You know, I noticed,
you got this new cough or you're walking
differently. We should be doing the same thing.
When we notice people aren't showing up for
work or they don't seem to be enjoying
activities as much as they used to, We
need to be able to say,
hey. How are you feeling? And
that helps really normalize,
that mental health is a part of everyday
health. And it also sends a really important
signal that you are you care enough about
this person
to ask them what they're going through and
what they're feeling. And then
be educated and be prepared to come up
with some of these,
suggestions
about how they can,
address some concerns. And, of course, if at
any time somebody's in mental health crisis, is
having thoughts about hurting themselves or anyone else,
obviously,
you wanna get emergency help, whether that's by
calling 911 or taking them to a health
care facility.
But fortunately for most people, those are not
usually what's the driving effect. It's usually something
that they're worried about,
or they're feeling down about. And just showing
that you care enough to ask about it
is oftentimes the first step in helping to
empower them
to get their mental health into a better
place.
Well, it's all really great advice, Matt. And
and before we go, that's the last question
I would extend to you as well is,
do you have any any more advice or
any final thoughts for the health plan leaders
listening in also looking to improve their members'
mental health
outcomes moving forward?
Well, I would just encourage all of us
to not think of mental health as something
separate. It shouldn't be carved out. It shouldn't
be in its own silo.
The head and the body are connected,
and the same is true about our health
care. So the more we think about this
in a holistic manner, the better we can
do, not just to improve people's
mental health, but also think about all of
those chronic conditions that we're dealing with as
health care providers
day in and day out. All of them
can be improved in terms of their overall
outcomes if people are in a better place
with their mental health.
Fantastic. Well, doctor Hereford, thank you so much
for taking the time to sit down with
us and for sharing your insights with our
listeners. We really appreciate it. Thank you, Jacob,
and, happy mental health awareness month. Yeah. Absolutely.
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