Catalpa Health

Lisa Kogan-Praska, President & CEO of Catalpa Health, told of “Mark”, a sophomore in high school, who texted his mother that he did not know how to approach her, that he felt helpless and that he needed to talk to someone. His mom tried to make an appointment for him but since it was not considered an emergency he had to wait 60 days to get an appointment. Last year, there were over 4,241 untreated mental heath pediatric cases in the Fox Valley. In 2010, over half of the 10,825 calls to the crisis center dealt with mental health issues. Suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for youth in Wisconsin - the 13th highest rate nationwide. One in 10 kids suffer from mental illness and only half are getting the care they need. About 65% of boys and 75% of girls with mental illness are in the juvenile correction system. About 50% of kids with mental illness will drop out of high school. Catalpa Health was formed to create a center of excellence for children and adolescent mental health care that provides the right care at the right time close to home. Affinity Health System, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and ThedaCare joined to create a center for mental health for kids ages 2 through 18. The 2011 LIFE Study affirmed that mental health needed to be a priority in the Fox Valley. Catalpa has 4 key goals: improve access for pediatric mental health services, double the number of clinical visits over the next 5 years, increase clinical providers and increase collaborations. Catalpa is improving access by increasing availability to tele-psychiatry for medication management, collaboration with community providers and organizations to coordinate care, and conducting a broader range of individual and group therapy. Increasing collaborations will strengthen the relationship between primary care physicians and behavioral health providers, give greater coordination for transition to and from the inpatient unit at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, develop strategic partnership with community providers and resources, and provide outreach/education with emphasis on prevention. Better coordination is the key to better outcomes. It is important to be able to share in electronic health records so that all of the providers can share information and treat the patient together. Establishing benchmarks in care is important so they know they are creating outcomes that drive lasting change. In order to provide long term access to care and achieve the desired quality outcomes to meet the increasing demand for mental health services for youth and adolescence in the Fox Cities, Catalpa must build a sustainable financial model, diversified payer mix, grant funding, active fundraising and outreach effort. Affinity, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Thedacare agreed to collectively invest $2 million annually to support Catalpa Health.