ELY- Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital’s most recent community needs health assessment identified mental health services as one of the top three gaps in health care for the region. In November, a nonprofit rural health agency has helped to address that gap by bringing its “telemental” service to Ely.
“Patients can consult with a therapist anywhere there’s an internet connection,” said Zomi Bloom, the telehealth program manager for Wilderness Health of Two Harbors. Patients referred into the program gain access to a vetted mental health professional who provides services over the internet, eliminating one of the most substantial barriers to gaining behavioral health care.
Creating a program
Wilderness Health received a four-year $1 million Rural Health Network Development Program grant in July 2023 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Our goal for the grant is to strengthen behavioral health navigation in our region’s rural communities,” Bloom told the Timberjay.
As part of its efforts, the nonprofit agency used $297,000 of the grant in part to develop a telehealth program for mental health services designed specifically with northeast Minnesota in mind.
“We hired a company called Digital Health Innovation to create an adaptive telehealth platform for us. We worked with them to get a branded product made just for us designed for the needs of our area,” Bloom explained. “We selected providers that will accept most of the insurance offered in the region, and for those whose insurance isn’t accepted or won’t pay, EBCH can provide help with financial counseling.”
How it works
“Two departments at EBCH are piloting our program, the emergency department and cardiac rehabilitation,” Bloom said. When these two departments identify patients with mental or behavior health care needs, it will refer them to Wilderness Health’s telemental program.
While it is intuitive that the ER would provide referrals for mental health, behavior health, and substance abuse help, the Timberjay asked Bloom about the connection with cardiac rehabilitation.
“For patients in cardiac rehab, as your life changes, your mental health changes with that,” Bloom replied.
The care provided through the telemental program can be as varied as a short-term acute-care consultation leading to other health services and outcomes or can be long-term therapy with a mental health provider. Wilderness Health will work with clients to help them get the best fit for their needs. By providing the program, the agency aims to address some of the mental health care gaps in EBCH’s service area.
Wilderness Health
Several rural hospitals in northeast Minnesota came together in 2013 to found Wilderness Health as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency designed to foster collaboration and coordination of health services between them while preserving their independence.
The agency’s member hospitals are Bigfork Valley Hospital, Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, Cook Hospital, Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital, Fairview Range-Range Regional Health Services, Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital, Aspirus Lake View, North Shore Health, and Aspirus St. Luke’s.
One of Wilderness Health’s current major initiatives is the expansion of telehealth in northeast and central Minnesota, since telehealth providers can help extend specialty services like mental and behavioral health care into underserved rural areas.