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) within its medical and surgical units to proactively address behavioral health needs during hospitalization. The BIT is a multidisciplinary team comprised of social workers, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and behavioral clinical nurse specialists, and is led by a psychiatrist. The team conducts early screening of patients for behavioral and psychiatric needs and partners closely with primary medical teams to implement timely, evidence‑informed interventions. This collaborative approach helps identify concerns early, support patients more effectively, and often prevent behavioral crises before they arise. This was shown to also reduce the length of stay compared to conventional consultation models. 

• 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. 

This webinar will feature the leaders of each of these programs to share implementation practices, program impact and lessons learned. Join us for a stimulating conversation about how integrating behavioral health into care delivery can improve whole-person health.