Home
>
Make a gift
>
Mental Health Campaign
Give a gift, share your story
“I have experienced firsthand the pain of mental illness — after years of ineffective treatment for depression, my sister took her own life — so I know the importance of quality care. That is why Susan and I contributed to the Campaign to Transform Mental Health Care, and why I volunteer on the campaign committee.”
- Bill Sands, campaign committee member
Regions Hospital Foundation is conducting a $6 million effort to help transform the way mental health care is offered in our community and beyond. Through 2012, the community had contributed $4.9 million toward this initiative.
You can make a difference, too, either through a financial gift or by sharing your story. If you want more information, please contact Regions Hospital Foundation at 651-254-2376 or by email. You can also read Regions Hospital Foundation’s winter 2012/2013 newsletter, which is devoted to the Campaign to Transform Mental Health Care.
-
The need
“Mental illnesses are some of the greatest health challenges our society faces, yet too often our health care industry treats them like second-class citizens. Patients experiencing a mental illness deserve the same great experience as those who have suffered a heart attack or been injured in a car accident.”
- Brock Nelson, president and CEO of Regions and campaign donor
Mental health is arguably the single greatest unmet health need in the community. The number of people who experience mental illnesses is staggering, as are the effects on their lives.
- According to government statistics, one in four adults experiences a diagnosable mental illness in a given year and five percent have a serious mental illness.
- If left untreated, such disorders can take a terrible toll on patients and families, leading to high levels of poverty, domestic violence and suicide.
- People living with serious mental illness die an average of 25 years earlier than other Americans, largely due to treatable medical conditions.
Mental illnesses also cause a tremendous drain on the community, both in terms of lost productivity and increased health care expenses. Yet with low reimbursement rates, mental health services do not receive the same resources as services that cater to patients with other illnesses and injuries.
To receive the best care, patients and families need an inpatient hospital that creates a supportive, healing environment. They also need a new type of programming that wraps them in care, from the day they begin treatment to the moment they are discharged and beyond. Finally, people need to know that it’s okay to have a mental illness, to talk about it and get help. On average, people wait 10 years before seeking treatment for mental illness. We must end this needless suffering.
In the Twin Cities, many people turn to Regions for their mental health care needs. The hospital’s inpatient facility has half of the mental health beds in the East Metro, caring for those experiencing a one-time mental health crisis as well as those with a serious mental illness. Now Regions wants to begin a new chapter in the way our community treats mental illnesses.
Lisa Smith's video testimonial.
-
Facility
“I’m excited by the new mental health facility at Regions. I think they did a great job of designing the place. The quality of it is a first for the area. It will allow doctors to give more one-on-one time to patients, and patients will have more privacy.”
- Dick Nicholson, campaign donor
Our new mental health facility hosted its grand opening on December 7, 2012. The building is the largest private investment in mental health services in the state’s history, and charitable donations played an important role in its construction.
Creating a supportive, healing environment was our top priority in planning the building. When patients are admitted to a mental health hospital, they are in crisis. We want to help them recover from the trauma they experienced and prepare for more fulfilling lives after hospitalization. We want family members to feel welcome and participate more fully in the care of their loved ones. We also want to collaborate more effectively with other mental health providers as we coordinate the ongoing care of patients. Highlights of the new building include the following:
- An eight-story, 115,000 square-foot building
- 100 private inpatient rooms and baths, with the option of finishing an additional floor and adding 20 more rooms (it is the only mental health facility in the Twin Cities with all private rooms)
- Family-friendly patient care space designed for a range of individual and group therapies
- Space for DayBridge, an intensive, inpatient-like mental health treatment program for adults who can safely return home at night and on weekends
- A multi-purpose space for physical activities and large educational groups as well as a safe and secure outside space
- A resource center for patients and visitors to acclimate themselves to the facility and receive informational resources
- A community space where our partners can meet
To learn how the new mental health building will improve the care offered to patients and their families, watch the following seven minute video.
The generosity of donors is making a big impact on our ability to accomplish our goals. For example, charitable contributions are allowing us to open the DayBridge space years before the previous plan.
- Identified charitable need for the facility: $4.5 million
-
Programming
“If given the proper resources and if treated with respect, patients will use their inpatient experience as a springboard for recovery. If they are made to feel like their conditions are untreatable, they will give up.”
- Melissa Hensley, member of Circle of Support’s patient and advisory council and a former patient of inpatient mental health services
Patients come to our mental health units feeling stuck. They need to be surrounded by support at every step of their care. That is why we created a new model for treating patients experiencing a mental illness, a model we call “Circle of Support.”
Sixteen work teams comprised of employees, former patients and their family members and staff from other mental health organizations have come together to consider all facets of care in the new facility. The teams are using an exhaustive survey of domestic and international mental health programs to make their decisions. Charitable contributions will allow us to create new and innovative programs that will help us become a national leader in the area of mental health.
We will base everything we do on what is best for the patient
We will provide patients with an experience that fits their individual needs, allowing them to choose their plan of care whenever possible. Physician coverage will be offered seven days a week to avoid delays in treatment; we are the only local mental health provider to offer such coverage. Donations will allow us to create new programming to better serve military veterans and offer complementary therapies like music to help improve the mood and overall treatment response of patients.
With patients’ permission, we will involve their support system in care
Nobody gets through a serious illness by themselves, whether they have cancer or a mental illness. By engaging their designated support systems in their care, their friends, family members, primary caregivers, social workers, and clergy can understand the illness and help patients better manage their condition. A charitably-funded attendant will staff a resource center, stocked with materials to help patients and families navigate mental illness.
We will prepare patients for discharge
When patients are ready for discharge, we arrange ongoing care with outside organizations such as People, Inc., PrairieCare and Guild, Inc. A new InReach program, funded with charitable gifts, will provide up to two months worth of case management to the most vulnerable patients. In this way, we will help them organize the ongoing care and social services they need to stabilize their lives. A basic needs fund will assist patients with the greatest financial need by helping pay for transportation, personal hygiene supplies, clothing, and discharge medications.
- Identified need for people and programs: $1 million
-
Fighting stigma
“It was amazing how open [my father] was about his depression at a time when admitting a mental illness carried a great personal and professional risk. Recovery was such a profound thing for him. He wanted others to experience the same relief.”
- Nancy McClure
We want to bring down the wall of stigma associated with mental illness. Too many people wait too long to seek care for what are treatable conditions.
Working with NAMI Minnesota and other community organizations, we are creating a campaign to fight the stigma. Our campaign will be less about educating the public about mental illness and more about changing their hearts. We want to make mental illnesses less scary and more like other diseases. Our message will be “Make it OK.”
- It’s OK to have a mental illness
- It’s OK to ask for help
- It’s OK to talk about it
- It will be OK because we aren’t hiding from it anymore
Our “Make it OK” campaign will include marketing and media efforts targeting the general public as well as outreach to local organizations who work closely with people who experience mental illnesses. It will launch in early 2013.
- Identified need for fighting stigma: $500,000
-
Benefit
“This could be the beginning of a great new chapter in the way our community treats mental illnesses.”
- Brock Nelson, president and CEO of Regions and campaign donor
Patients experiencing a mental illness want to live independently, to work and love. We want to help them do that. The combination of a new facility with new programming will allow us to serve more patients while decreasing lengths of stay and the number of discharged patients who are readmitted. Our initiative will also have a powerful effect on the rest of the community.
- Improved mental health care will reduce health care expenses and increase workforce productivity.
- The new mental health building will act as a meeting place for mental health professionals and community leaders, allowing them to discuss and plan for the mental health needs of the whole community.
- The building and its programming will reduce stigma by creating an environment dedicated to mental health and comparable to facilities that serve patients with other injuries and illnesses.
- The anti-stigma campaign will encourage people across the Twin Cities to seek care for mental illness, which will strengthen their families and the economic vitality of the area.
- Our mental health initiative will encourage other mental health providers, both locally and nationally, to improve their facilities and the care they provide within them.
