Deborah Riddick, founder of Alternate Frame and Delta Center trainer, speaks during a recent Delta Center gathering.
“We went from being more like neighbors waving to each other across the fence, and now we’re really working together. And that’s a result of the Delta Center,” says Lou Carmichael, CEO of Variety Care, in a new video about the impact of the Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net. Representing the Oklahoma Behavioral Health Association at the initiative’s final meeting in March, she described how participating in the initiative has strengthened her relationship with the Oklahoma Primary Care Association. Oklahoma is one of 19 states that have participated in the seven-year initiative.
Established in 2018 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Delta Center convened state primary care and mental health associations to drive policy and practice change. The ultimate goal of the Delta Center is to develop health care policy and a system of care that is more equitable and better meets the needs of individuals and families. Fellows used their Delta Center funds for a range of activities, including research, education, training, stakeholder engagement and convening, and developing shared policy agendas. The second and final cohort of six fellowship teams concluded in July.
Led by JSI, the Delta Center team also included partners from the National Center for Mental Wellbeing, the National Association of Community Health Centers, and the Center for Accelerating Care Transformation. In the video: New Directions in Healthcare Through Collaboration: The Story of the Delta CenterThe scholarship holders talk about their experiences and insights.
“Some of our health centers thought that mental health centers were all about money…that they had all these revenue streams and could do whatever they wanted…It’s like they look at the other people and say, ‘Oh, they have it easy,’ and don’t recognize the challenges they face,” says Scott Anglemyer, policy director for the Community Care Network of Kansas.
The fellows also celebrated policy successes and practice changes resulting from collaborations among state primary care and mental health associations, many of which worked to advance telehealth in their states during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ve seen telemedicine gain traction after years of interest but never getting it to work politically. Yes, that was partly because there was a crisis, but there were also actors on the ground who were able to act quickly and say we need this now because we need care,” says Rachel Tobey, project manager at the Delta Center.
In the months following the 2021 killing of George Floyd and nationwide protests for racial justice, fellows focused on centering consumer voices and advancing health and racial justice. The Delta Center team organized presentations, sparked conversations, and added several resources to fellows’ toolboxes to support them in their pursuit of justice.
“That’s one of the most important things we’ve gotten from the Delta Center – the level of training and technical support in the area of health equity,” says Jim Zibailo, director of community health systems at the New Hampshire Primary Care Association.
This first video highlights the Delta Center’s overall impact among participating state associations. Upcoming videos will highlight each state grantee team. Stay tuned this fall for a two-part series showing how the Alaska grantee team used the Delta Center’s advocacy experience to support state mental health professionals.
