Behavioral Health
NEQCA’s Behavioral Health program aligns social work services with opportunities to advance value-based care.
Collaborative Care
NEQCA’s collaborative care model is a systematic approach to the treatment of depression and anxiety in primary care settings that involves the integration of behavioral health care managers and consultant psychiatrists, with primary care physician oversight, to more proactively manage mental health conditions and chronic diseases, rather than treating acute symptoms.
NEQCA is piloting its collaborative care model with a small number of adult practices within its Network. Findings from the pilot will help determine how to roll-out the program to other groups. Learn more here.
Pediatric Resource Specialist
NEQCA’s Pediatric Resource Specialist supports pediatricians treating patients with complex medical, behavioral, and social needs. The Resource Specialist focuses on complex pediatric patients where the biggest impacts can be made to improve quality of life and reduce costs.
The Resource Specialist supports all pediatric practices across our Network that do not have their own behavioral health staff. The Resource Specialist works in collaboration with patients, families/caregivers, clinical staff and referring providers to connect patients with relevant community resources. The Resource Specialist promotes timely access to appropriate care and services, increases utilization of preventive care and addresses social determinants of health barriers. Services are provided telephonically or through telehealth. Learn more here.
April is Autism Awareness Month.
NEW: Pediatric Pathways Newsletter - April 2021
NEW: Pathways for Families- April 2021
NEW: List of Developmental Evaluation Centers for Autism Spectrum Disorders
The aim of the "Pediatric Pathways" staff newsletter is to increase provider awareness regarding tools and resources available to best support the patients and families served by the practice.
In this Issue...
Developmental/Behavioral Pediatric Support
Individualized Education Program (IEP) for Home – An Educational Tool for Parents to use with their primary care providers and primary care office staff
For Parents
NEQCA has collaborated with Erik von Hahn MD, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician from the Center for Children with Special needs at Tufts Medical Center. As part of this collaboration, Dr. von Hahn developed a parent/caregiver-oriented website with valuable information that parents can use to promote their child’s development.
The website focuses on skill sets that all children need to develop, including those who may have a disability. These skills are critical for the child’s successful day at school. There are many ways that parents can make use of the website. First of all, they can use it to get ideas about how they can promote their child’s overall development. They can start to think strategically about skills they’d like their child to develop. They can the website it to identify areas that they’d like professionals to help them with. That way, they will be more prepared when they come to see a professional, including professionals at the Center for Children with Special Needs. Finally, they can use the website to gain ideas and work collaboratively with other providers in the community, such as occupational therapists, speech therapists, and child therapists. Everyone wants children to build the skills listed in the IEP for Home. The website is one way to start the conversation and make sure your child is learning more successfully.
Here are the skills and skill sets that children need to build:
- Develop positive relationships- especially with their parents
- Sleeping skills. Develop good sleeping habits
- Eating skills. Build good eating habits
- Schedule. Have a schedule. Know when routines have to be completed and when privileges are allowed
- Rules. Know the rules and follow those rules consistently.
- Friendships. Make friendships with peers.
- Homework. Get homework done, at their level.
Materials for Download:
For Professionals: Stay tuned!
Professionals working in general pediatrician offices are encouraged to make use of the IEP for Home website too. Parents who are waiting for an evaluation at the CCSN find this website especially welcome. It can help to organize parents’ thinking about the skills that they wish to develop for their child, both prior to and after the CCSN evaluation.
This coming year, Dr. von Hahn plans to include information for professionals on the website too. Information for professionals will include
- Psychoeducation and goal-setting for the family
- Strategies for teaching the skills listed in the IEP for Home, for use during behavioral health visits
- Evidence-based information to share with the family and with community providers, to assure that families get the service(s) that they most need
- How a child’s disability status affects their learning- or has no effect- on mastering the skills listed in the IEP for Home
- Services that families can request from schools- and services that they should request from elsewhere