Gateway Health Center in Providence, Rhode Island
Gateway Health Center Uses Mirah to Take MBC Into the Community
“We see ourselves as promoting the overall wellness of the family.”
Susan Stevenson, Director of Child and Family Services at Gateway Healthcare
Rhode Island’s Gateway Healthcare
Gateway Healthcare, a Community Mental Health Center in Providence, Rhode Island, uniquely aims to integrate primary and behavioral health care into a cohesive unit. They achieve this by reaching people directly: in their homes, on the streets, or wherever they are in need.
Susan Stevenson, Director of Child and Family Services at Gateway Healthcare, explains, “Our work happens in the community, with very little clinic based, standard outpatient services. We do a whole lot of direct treatment, case management, and care coordination. That’s the hallmark of community-based services.”
When working with a new client, they begin with a wide view of the issues before focusing on the specifics. What are the family factors? Housing? Finances? Food security? All of these concerns have an impact on whether the individual can make real progress. Gateway Healthcare staff guide their clients to set personal goals, consistently attend appointments, and develop ways to manage their lives to improve their physical and mental health. “We see ourselves as promoting the overall wellness of the family,” explains Susan.
“One way that Mirah has really helped us is in our ability to create that family perspective. MBC helps us to not just look at the individual client but also all the family members living with that client. We are able to see challenges more clearly and thus incorporate them into our treatment.”
Susan Stevenson, Director of Child and Family Services
Hills to Climb, Mirah as a Guide
One of the many challenges to Gateway’s uniquely integrated approach to wellness is the availability of relevant Electronic Health Records. Without access to the health record and histories for all relevant parties in a family, case management can be extremely challenging. Susan explains, “To really see the family dynamic, we needed someone to step up and create a platform – one that sits outside of the system and allows us to see the big picture.” They found their solution in Mirah, an established pioneer of Measurement-Based Care (MBC).
Grant Program Deliverable Challenges
Michelle Gonzalez, Program Manager of Gateway’s PIPBHC, explains that PIPBHC is currently funded through a federal grant that allows us to provide many wraparound services that are not typically billable to third parties (insurance). A major hurdle in the upcoming years will be to create a sustainability model that funds a range of wellness activities that are flexible and comprehensive.
“We’re working within a massive healthcare system, one with very specific requirements and regulations,” Michelle says. “We’re balancing the requirements and highly variable client needs by using Mirah to continually pivot based on family needs.”
Mirah has built PIPBHC’s integrated care treatment plan which includes goals and interventions for multiple family members for social determinant factors, physical health and behavioral health. Staff can monitor client progress based on the Mirah feedback reports and help patients set their own personal goals directly in the Mirah platform. Then, they can track the patient’s progress as well as the overall progress of the family. Susan chimes in, “This can be challenging, but the data is important and meaningful once it’s there. We find it really critical in this program.”
Michelle goes on to say that MBC is starting to permeate throughout all of Gateway’s interventions and even in working with other programs. It has shifted how patients collaborate with their providers.
“It's not just education, it’s also discussing the before and after in regards to the scales and the progress or regression we find there. Patients can see that there is a context to their concerns and fears. We're trying to make it relevant,” says Michelle.
Both Susan and Michelle agree that Measurement-Based Care grows clinical skills as well as teams. At Gateway, staff are able to meet with clients and have them complete the Mirah measures during their session. This often leads to conversations that drive progress.
“I would love to see Mirah extended into other programs here at Gateway. Frankly, I would love to see MBC used more widely in behavioral health.”
Susan Stevenson, Director of Child and Family Services
Connecting Patients, Counselors and Providers
Mirah has helped shed light on the multitude of factors influencing the overall health of Gateway’s clients. Mirah enables intercommunication between counselor and provider, coordinating the work of primary and behavioral health professionals into a concerted effort. Mirah’s MBC platform generates concrete data that deepens client engagement and fosters a collaborative approach in identifying treatment goals. As clients observe their progress on feedback reports, it helps to inspire them to continue to work toward achieving their physical and mental health goals.
Susan shares, “People at Mirah have been very engaged while listening to us and quickly responding to what we need. They help us to assess what it is we are really looking for and keep us from overreaching or creating something that isn't going to be that helpful. They train us, they support us, and they're fun to work with. They make it easy!”
Learn more about how Mirah can help.
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