The Reno County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) starts with a profound statement, “Imagine if Reno County had what they needed to be healthy,” a statement that provided much food for thought during a discussion on mental health held Wednesday evening at the Hutchinson Public Library.
The 60-minute discussion was moderated by Candace Davidson, health education supervisor for the Reno County Health Department.
Panelists included Tyler Vance, director of community support services for Horizons Mental Health Center; Debbie Graber, coordinator of counseling and social work services for Hutchinson Community College; Matthew Caraway, a peer mentor; Lisa Omison, Rise Up Reno; Valerie Taylor, Community Impact Coordinator for United Way of Reno County; and Gary Race with the Reno County Health Department.
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Race spoke of a need “to bring all parties to the table” for a discussion on mental health.
“Mental health affects choices people make,” Race said. “We need to normalize what it means to have a mental health issue so that the person dealing with the crisis is not ostracized.”
Graber said Hutchinson Community College employs three full-time therapists and trains instructors and coaches on how to recognize mental health issues.
“A college is a community within a community so we are working to make certain students are urged to come forward to seek help,” Graber said. “If a student takes as little as one hour of coursework, they are still eligible for all our services. People often ask what do college students have to worry about. It is one of the most stressful times in life.”
Omison said people should know it is okay to talk about mental health issues.
“You may even find that others you know are struggling with the same issue,” Omison noted. “Don’t hesitate to ask how people are doing should they be acting differently.”
Graber said mental health issues are also affecting farmers and complimented companies such as Farm Bureau for its efforts to provide services.
“Farming is not a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job, and sometimes the stress of maintaining ownership of a multi-generational farming operation may seem hard to deal with,” Graber said.
The panelists were unanimous in their support of the nationwide 988 suicide dial-in number, which is available 24/7, and were puzzled why it took so long to deploy. Although each expressed appreciation for improved technology such as Tele-Health, most seemed concerned that some insurance carriers are balking on coverage.
Vance minced few words in his support of Medicaid expansion and how it could improve the healthcare of what is now 150,000 uninsured Kansans.
“Also, the correlation of homelessness and mental health issues is astounding,” Vance said.
Davidson invited residents of Reno County to join in the conversation to learn and be engaged in the efforts being made to improve gaps of care and areas identified by CHIP.
“This is a great time for people to understand how much work is going on to better our community,” Davidson said. “We are excited about who is presenting on topics and believe our community can have a great impact on the steps we are taking to work on areas in the CHIP.”
The third of four public meetings is slated for 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, July 10 at the Hutchinson Public Library. Dakota Sanders, Author, and ACT Peer Support Specialist at Horizons Mental Health Center, will speak and respond to questions from the audience.
