Integrating Behavioral Health: A Path to Whole-Person Care

Mental and physical health are intertwined — this has long been established. One way of transforming the way we approach care delivery is to provide whole-person care through the integration of behavioral and physical health. Integrated care takes systemic coordination and can be complex. In this webinar, learn from two hospitals who are integrating behavioral and physical health in their care delivery.  

• Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) launched a Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) at Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital and eventually expanded the program across YNHH’s medical and surgical units. Under this model, medical teams work together to identify and address behavioral health needs early in a patient’s journey, then specialists from the BIT liaison with them and their care teams to provide interventions — before crises can arise.

• Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego was faced with an unprecedented surge of children coming into its emergency department (ED) with behavioral health needs. They responded by placing mental health professionals in primary care practices. The results were positive — a significant 40% reduction in mental health visits to the ED.