Health Department Treats Mind and Body

The Gulf County Health Department has adopted a holistic approach to caring for the county's residents.

Understanding the importance of the mind/body connection, the health department now integrates medical and behavioral health services in both Port St. Joe and Wewahitchka locations.

Using an innovative "internal referral process," physicians work hand-in-hand with behavioral health specialists to identify and treat behavioral health problems.

"We're probably one of the first community health centers saying, 'Let's change the model of how we do this,'" noted health department administrator Doug Kent.

Public information officer C.J. Herndon described the health department's new direction as a "true integration of services under one roof."

Take, for instance, the following scenario:  A person experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression schedules an appointment with a health department doctor.

Realizing that the patient's physical symptoms point to an underlying mental condition, the doctor makes an internal referral to the health department behavioral team.

The behavioral team then provides the patient with access to counseling, writing treatment notes on the same patient chart used by the doctor.

If the doctor opts to prescribe psychotropic medication, the behavioral team monitors the effectiveness of the drugs in easing the patient's symptoms.

One method the health department uses to discover symptoms of depression is the PHQ9 Depression Screening, a one-page questionnaire that patients can complete in the waiting room or exam room.

The questionnaire lists symptoms of depression, and is scored according to professional guidelines.

If a patient's responses demonstrate that he or she suffers from depression, the doctor can make an internal referral to the behavioral team.

If the score is very high, indicating a danger to the patient, social services will intervene before he or she leaves the building.

The behavioral health team includes Dr. Barbara McDermid, a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and advanced registered nurse practitioner (ANRP).

Jill Nace, who has her master's degree in social work, is currently working on her LCSW certification, under the mentorship of McDermid.

The team also includes case manager Sarah Quaranta, employees trained to diffuse crisis situations and a Tampa-based psychiatrist who audits heath charts and provides professional guidance.

The behavioral health team provides a wide variety of services, including grief counseling, anger management and couples counseling.

Many patients simply need someone to talk to about personal issues ranging from unemployment to financial woes.

The health department receives referrals from the court system and local Domestic Violence Task Force, and recently contracted with the Gulf County School District.

The health department provides psychiatric services as identified by the school district, with referrals made by guidance counselors, teachers and administrators.

According to Kent, the behavioral health team focuses primarily on caring for Level 1 and 2 risk groups within the school system.

Level 1 deals primarily with technical assistance programs, while Level 2 addresses student's issues with grief, anger, stress, depression and peer relationships.

Those identified as Level 3 have neurological and chronic mental illnesses that are beyond the scope of the health department's services.

These patients may be referred to Panama City-based providers such as Life Management and Bay Behavioral.

Even when the behavioral team makes an outside referral, the case manager continues to keep tabs on the patient's progress.

When a patient sees another doctor, the health department provides a list of all medications prescribed to the patient.

This policy provides additional oversight and helps to combat the abuse of prescribed medications.

With high gas prices and long travel times to Panama City, many people avoid seeking the treatment that would help them lead normal lives.

The health department hopes providing local behavioral services five days a week will ease the burden on those who need help the most.

"Short-term problems become long-term problems," noted Herndon. "If we can intervene, we can get them back on track."

For more information on the health department's behavioral services, contact the Port St. Joe office at 227-1276 or the Wewahitchka office at 639-2644.