The HOST team is a partnership between Integral Care, the Austin Police Department, Emergency Medical Services, Downtown Austin Community Court and the Downtown Austin Alliance. An approved increase of funding will cover the cost of a certified peer specialist/peer recovery coach and allow more funding to address immediate needs, like obtaining official ID documents and bus passes.

Find out more in this report from KXAN.

“Mental health services in Austin ISD is an essential part of educating the whole child,” said Tracy Spinner, district director of health services. “We are thankful for dedicated partners like Integral Care who have stepped up to continue services for our students at 16 campus mental health centers. While we are one step closer to supporting our students, the need for additional funds is still present and we are continuing to meet with potential partners to fully fund these services.”

The Austin school board Monday night approved an agreement with Integral Care to keep 16 campus mental health centers open this school year. Read more in the Statesman.

U.S. News and World Report shined a spotlight on Integral Care’s integrated care services. The article features an Integral Care client who lives with bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders and benefits from integrated mental and physical health care as well as wellness services. Our client says, “It has really built me up to be a better woman.” The story also features our partners Dell Medical School and CommUnityCare.

Integral Care’s Systems Chief Medical Officer James Baker wrote an article for this month’s TexasMedicine about the ways our state can focus on prevention and early detection of mental illness.

By James G. Baker, MD, MBA

It is far too common in psychiatry for diagnosis to first come in a crisis visit to the emergency department, the equivalent of diabetes being first diagnosed as ketoacidosis. That is why I am very persuaded by the argument that we should focus on early detection and treatment in mental health, just as in other medical specialties.

What if our medical association and our local medical societies took the lead in the development and implementation of strategic population mental health initiatives across the state focused on early detection and intervention of mental illnesses? Our shared vision could be a statewide population mental health initiative with four parts:

Routine screening for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress as a part of every outpatient clinic visit in Texas. Mental health screening could ― and should! ― be just as routine as temperature, pulse, and blood pressure screens for every adult in Texas, whether care is provided in the public or private sector. As an example, The University of Texas Southwestern’s Madhukar Trivedi, MD, has an iPad software program, VitalSIgn6, that screens for depression and can be modified to screen for other common mental health challenges.

Routine substance-use screening as part of physical exams for every teenager and adult in Texas. The NIDA Modified Assist (for adults) and the CRAFFT (for adolescents) are examples of quick, easy-to-use screening tools. Significant reductions in alcohol and substance use can result when screening is followed by a nurse or social worker offering brief, evidence-based intervention at the same doctor visit.

Easy access to evidence-based, first-episode psychosis treatment and research protocol for every newly diagnosed patients in Texas. Early and aggressive treatment in programs like RA1SE have been shown to improve markedly the outcome of patients with schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders that include psychotic symptoms. Its availability currently is limited, but detection and early treatment are just as important with schizophrenia as they are with cancer.

Easy access to mental health first-aid training for everyone in Texas. Mental Health First Aid is a training course started in Australia 15 years ago that is now available statewide for anyone in the community, including first responders. The training reduces stigma, and, just like CPR, Mental Health First Aid has the potential to save lives. Our goal could be to train 750,000 people statewide.

Perhaps our medical association and local medical societies could partner with medical school departments of psychiatry, with local mental health authorities, and with local and statewide philanthropic organizations to demonstrate quick and quantifiable success in our four-part, population mental health initiative. Armed with that data, we could approach policymakers with strategies to improve access and quality of mental-health and substance-use services to everyone in our state, especially to the poor.

The potential impact on our patients and our communities ― and on each one of us ― is huge. As a mother, father, son, or daughter, you are just as likely to have family affected by mental health as by cancer ― up to one in three Texans has a mental health and/or substance use disorder. As a taxpayer, you help fund at least $1.4 billion in emergency department costs from mental illnesses presenting in crisis.

Each of us now knows that mental illness is medical illness, just like diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular illness. And each of us knows that contemporary mental health care is rooted in science. Next, we must insist upon prevention, early intervention, and aggressive treatment for people who endure these potentially devastating disorders. When all that is required for early detection is a couple of questions asked while taking a pulse, then collectively we must insist that those questions get asked.

James G. Baker, MD, MBA, is a member of the Texas Medical Association Council on Science and Public Health. He also serves as associate chair of clinical integration and services in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School and as systems chief medical officer for integral care, the community mental health center for Austin and Travis County. Dr. Baker is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a recipient of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Exemplary Psychiatrist Award as well as the Mental Health America of Greater Dallas Pamela Blumenthal Memorial Award.  

The commentary article was originally published on the Texas Medical Association’s website here as part of TMA Publication TexasMedicine February 2018.

The Austin Chronicle highlighted how Integral Care works closely with community partners to support the mental health needs of Travis County, particularly those experiencing a mental health crisis. “Anyone can experience a mental health crisis,” said Laura Wilson-Slocum, Integral Care Practice Administrator. This article explores the variety of crisis services Integral Care provides our community – the Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care provides short term crisis care in an overnight setting, our Mobile Crisis Outreach Team co-responds with the Austin Police Department and EMS to provide community-bases crisis care, and our Psychiatric Emergency Services provides mental health urgent care seven days  a week. Read the article here.

Spectrum News recently highlighted the impact of our 24/7 Crisis Helpline. They interviewed Ca’Sonya, an Austinite who used the Helpline to get through her darkest hour. After Ca’Sonya lost her husband, she decided to make a life-changing phone call to get the support she needed. “The hardest step is just starting picking up the phone,” said Nicole Warren, Integral Care Helpline Program Manager. “Once you pick up that phone, you’ll find someone who is passionate and dedicated to what we do here.”

Integral Care’s Helpline provides around the clock crisis support and access to all of Integral Care’s programs and services for adults and children, including appointments and billing. Our Helpline recently added free interpretation services in 15 language to meet the needs of our growing and changing community. We have trained medical interpreters who speak Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Korean, Filipino, Russian, German, French, Urdu, Farsi, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, and Napali. Learn more about the Helpline.

August 30, 2017

During a traumatic event, mental health support is more important than ever. KVUE covered the developing story of Hurricane Harvey and its emotional effect on evacuees and first responders. “It’s critically important for mental health professionals to be available to those in need, to give guidance and offer a sense of safety and security,” said Dr. Kathleen Casey, Integral Care’s Director of Clinical Innovation and Development.

Read More

August 8, 2017

KXAN highlighted Integral Care’s first of its kind Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care. The Herman Center will offer the right level of care at the right time, reduce cost of care and improve health outcomes for patients. “The idea is most mental health crisis can resolve in the first 48 hours of them beginning, so we want to quickly stabilize people so we can get them on that path to recovery and back out into the community as soon as possible, avoiding a hospital stay which tends to be lengthier and more expensive,” said Laura Slocum, an Integral Care Practice Administrator. The Herman Center is currently only accepting internal referrals from Integral Care crisis services. It’s not appropriate for walk-ins or self-referrals. To learn more about the Herman Center, click here.

Read More

July 29, 2017

KAGS in Bryan/College Station recently did a story on suicide hotlines, featuring Integral Care’s 24/7 Crisis Helpline. Nicole Warren, Integral Care’s Crisis Helpline Program Manager, says: “Getting people connected with supports is so important.” If you need help, please call us 24/7 at 512-472-HELP (4357).

Read More

Tables and Sponsorships are still on sale.

Join us this year as we honor Dr. Clay Johnston and highlight the partnership between Dell Medical School and Integral Care.

Funds raised this year will go to provide the latest evidence-based best practices that are the critical tools for building recovery for persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

New Milestones Foundation raises funds to support Integral Care in meeting the needs of adults, families, and children in our community with mental illness, substance abuse disorders and intellectual and developmental disabilities. We accomplish this by bridging the gaps between what government funds and what enhances Integral Care programs and services and between what we have today in practice and what might be promising practices for the future.

Tickets to event

Tickets are still available for New Milestones Foundation’s Bridging the Gap Gala. This year’s gala – A Spotlight on Mental Health – will be held Thursday, November 9^th at the Hyatt Regency Austin. We’re excited to announce that Sheila Hamilton, 5-time Emmy-Award winning journalist, author and mental health advocate, is the keynote speaker. Ms. Hamilton’s book All the Things We Never Knew is about loving and losing someone with mental illness. Over the course of the evening, Ms. Hamilton will share her incredibly personal story and truly put a Spotlight on Mental Health.

In its 16^th year, the gala will help raise funds for Integral Care’s 24/7 Helpline. The Helpline provides a direct connection to around-the-clock mental health crisis support as well as Integral Care’s programs and services for adults and children. New Milestones Foundation is the funding arm of Integral Care and helps expand awareness in order to eradicate the stigma associated with mental health disorders. Get your tickets and tables today at newmilestones.org. It’s going to be a great night!

Integral Care is now offering weekly Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) classes in Austin and Georgetown. MHFA is a one-day training that teaches people how to help someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis or showing signs of mental illness or substance use disorder. Thanks to a grant from the St. David’s Foundation, no one will be turned away. However, a donation of $10 is welcome.

MHFA can save a life, just like CPR can save someone who can’t breathe or is having a heart attack. Register today.

A Message From Our CEO

2020 has been a year like no other. Many of us have experienced depression, anxiety and grief as a result of the pandemic. This winter brings additional challenges – we’re entering an unprecedented holiday season away from loved ones and some of us experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) this time of year. But, there is good news. Evidence-based strategies and tools exist to bolster our mental health this season.

CLICK HERE TO READ TRANSPARENCIES – December 2020

Living with a serious mental illness (SMI) can make it difficult to function in daily life and contribute to the community. Regular engagement in specialized person centered treatment can positively impact health, reduce alienation from family and friends, homelessness, and involvement with the criminal justice system.

Integral Care recently launched a new Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) program. This innovative program uses practical, evidence-based interventions to improve adherence to mental health treatment for individuals with SMI who experience multiple episodes of hospitalization or incarceration. AOT is a collaboration between Integral Care, Travis County Probate Court, Travis County Clerk’s Office and Dell Medical School’s Department of Population Health at the University of Texas at Austin.

CLICK HERE TO READ TRANSPARENCIES – October 2020

A new school year can cause feelings of apprehension for children and youth. Going back to school this fall will look, and certainly feel, different than ever before – likely creating more feelings of uneasiness. Even if a student isn’t anxious, their parent likely is, impacting the overall feelings about the coming year. Given the current environment and the lack of certainty, how can we support our children to build resilience and well-being?

CLICK HERE TO READ TRANSPARENCIES – August 2020

Transparencies
Integral Care’s monthly newsletter shares pertinent information about the state of mental health care, substance use disorder and intellectual and developmental disabilities in our community and beyond. It highlights Integral Care programs and collaborations making a difference in Travis County.(View Newsletters)

Living Well
Integral Care’s quarterly peer-led newsletter features interviews with Integral Care staff, stories of recovery, creative writing, tips for self-care and offers hope for tomorrow. This newsletter is led by an Integral Care Peer Support Specialist. Our peer support specialists have lived experience with mental illness or substance use disorder. (View Newsletters)