A deep dive into the mental health crisis was the focus of the 2023 Future of Health Summit hosted by Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP).
On. Oct. 13, health care professionals across the region gathered at the not-for-profit health organization’s Rancho Cucamonga headquarters. Attendees learned from field experts about how providers can address a patient’s mental health needs from assessment to treatment and beyond.
Michelle Baass, director of the California Department of Health Care Services, provided guests with an overview of statewide programs available to Medi-Cal members, including a streamlined approach to enrollment and appointment services, and a new No Wrong Door for Mental Health Services Policy that ensures members receive care without delay.
“We don’t want to close the door on our members who are seeking help, who are seeking assistance,” Baass explained. “We want to meet the member where they are and provide services that are coordinated and in continuity as well.”
Additional highlights included remarks by Dr. Timothy McDonald, chief patient safety and risk officer for RLDatix; Dr. Takashi Wada, IEHP’s chief medical officer; and a panel discussion moderated by Amrita Rai, clinical director of community behavioral health for IEHP, featuring Dr. Matthew Chang, director of behavioral health for Riverside University Health; Dr. Vanessa Perez, director of behavioral health with Health Service Alliance; and Dr. Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, psychiatrist, author and filmmaker known for his book, “Bedlam: An Intimate Journey Into America’s Mental Health Crisis,” and short film, “Bedlam.”
The 2023 Future of Health Summit marked the second event of its kind planned and hosted by IEHP. A third summit is scheduled for October 2024. Each year, the gathering explores strategic ways health care professionals across the state can better serve their communities and is tailored to provide resources necessary to make a lasting impact.
“IEHP is led by our mission to ‘heal and inspire the human spirit,’ and we take that to heart,” Jarrod McNaughton, IEHP’s chief executive officer, told the attendees. “It’s an inspirational mission that actually comes from all of you and what you are doing to care for our members.”
IEHP offers mental and behavioral health resources 24/7 through its website at www.iehp.org or by calling Member Services at 800-440-4347 from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday through Friday or from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Members and the community can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 from any phone line for additional or after-hours support.
