Kansas Mental Health Training
The prevalence of adult mental illness in Kansas is at 26 percent, translating into 560,000 people.
Celia Ruiz, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Project Coordinator of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas, shares how everyday people can identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders.
“I would say that mental health has always been important, but today, we have the research to show that mental and emotional well-being is critical to overall health and wellness.
"We are living in times that can be challenging for many, so engaging individuals to proactively take care of their mental health and address their behavioral health needs is more important than ever.
"UnitedHealthcare's mission is to help people live healthier lives. Prevention is a big component of that. Early intervention in a mental health issue is critical to anticipate and prevent a crisis. We need more members of our communities who can spot a potential problem and who can help an impacted individual seek help.
"That is why UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas supports implementing and expanding Mental Health First Aid, a course that teaches everyday people - who are not necessarily healthcare professionals - how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse disorders.
"This training gives the skills needed to reach out and provide that initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance abuse problem or experiencing a crisis.
"The beauty of this program is that it equips any community member to assist with behavioral health. This is how I look at it; most of us would know how to react if we saw someone experiencing a heart attack, and we would start with CPR or, at the very least, call 911. But too few of us would know how to respond to someone having a panic attack, or we were concerned if a friend or co-worker might be showing signs of substance abuse. That is what we teach in this course.
"At UnitedHealthcare, we are committed to supporting our members and providing them with tools to thrive in their communities. I am an instructor of this program myself. Since 2019 and despite in-person challenges in 2020, we have provided this training to more than 400 members of our Kansas community, over 35 classes, and we currently have 13 in-person classes scheduled for this year.
"Classes are eight hours in length, usually held in person, in English or Spanish, over the weekend, and in partnership with local Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHCs), community, and faith-based organizations."
To learn more, please visit this link: https://www.ksmedicaid.com/youth-mental-health
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