Article archive / December 1, 2010
Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 4. Source pages: 1, 8, 9.
Psychologists Dr. Denise Sellers and Dr. Alyson McCain are part of an innovative health care approach, an integrated mobile mental health team, called the Baton Rouge Children’s Health Project (BRCHP). The BRCHP is in its fourth year, and works from a design that incorporates medical, behavioral, family and social systems, and an approach that takes services to the doorstep of underserved and disadvantaged children.
BRCHP came into existence after Katrina, explained Linda Lee, LCSW and Program Administrator in Baton Rouge. “The Children’s Health Fund is located in New York City,” Linda explained, “and was founded by Paul Simon and Dr. Irwin Redlener who became concerned about kids…about the devastation in New Orleans and surrounding areas after Katrina, and sent staff and units within days after the storm to provide medical care to children affected…”
This initial response prompted the creation of permanent mobile units in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and in Gulfport, MS.
The key to the programs’ success, Linda noted, are the mobile units and the “integrated delivery of care model. Big blue buses (RVs) are outfitted to address all of a child’s needs at once. “The integration of medical and mental health is really the Midas touch,” Linda explained.
“The team followed children from Katrina into the trailer villages after the storms, creating a continuity of care, and a comprehensiveness of care, that may have been nearly impossible under any other conditions,” Linda said.
Psychologists Denise Sellers and Alyson McCain are Co-Directors for the BRCHP Mental Health Clinic providing assessment and treatment to elementary school age children and their parents. The psychologists conduct individual evaluations (ADHD, learning disorders) and provide treatment for disorders including behavior disorders, anxiety and depression.
Denise told the Times, “We feel that one of the most important aspects of our work is the opportunity to serve an under-served population. We are in a unique position in which we are able to bring our services to the patients–and work with them in the environment where they spend the majority of their time–the school.”
The psychologists provide parent training and work with families on issues of adjustment and coping with daily and major life stressors, and lead group treatment for social skills, ADHD, and self- esteem.
“We also work with teachers to develop classroom behavior management plans,” Denise said, “and participate in meetings with Pupil Appraisal to design Individual Education Plans for students.”
“We find one of the most satisfying aspects of our job to be our participation in a multi-disciplinary team,” Alyson noted. “We feel that it is a privilege to be able to consult with each other and other professionals, including social workers, an art therapist, a health educator, a case manager and medical staff.”
“It is also fulfilling to watch progress, when we can, as a team, treat the ‘whole child,’” Alyson noted.
Medical Director of the BRCHP, Dr. Stewart Gordon told the Times that the program’s unique benefit comes from integrating the traditional medical care with the behavioral health care into one ‘medical home.’ “We look at the total child, their medical, school, home, and overall life situation. The medical is important, but we’re attuned to their behavioral and social needs as well, which are as important, if not more important, than their medical.”
Dr. Stewart Gordon is Chief Pediatrician at LSU Health Services Center, a program at Earl K. Long Medical Center. He has served as Medical Director for the BRCHP for five years.
“In general,” he explained, “children get sick quickly and get well quickly,” he said. “But we get into their behavioral health and their social health, and that’s not something typically ‘fixed’ with a prescription. The units work in unison, one in medical and one in behavioral. We work with the whole child to improve the outcomes.”
The Children’s Health Fund, founded in 1987 by singer/songwriter Paul Simon and pediatrician Dr. Irwin Redlener provides mobile-based health care for homeless and low-income children. The Fund’s mission is to provide innovative health programs directly to those in need, including responding to health care crises like those from the Gulf Coast Hurricanes and the more recent oil spill.
Co-founder Dr. Redlener, notes on the website that CHF currently has 50 mobile medical clinics serving hundreds of locations across the U.S. The organization has supported more than two million health care visits for disadvantaged children over the last 23 years, delivering care to those who are unlikely to receive health services.
Dr. Gordon said he was grateful to CHF. “It is very nice to work with a national partner that practices what they preach–they stay true to their mission and have done a great job in continuing their support for this community program a full five years after Katrina.”
Earlier this year, Administrator Linda Lee was able to attend the Gala fund- raising in New York where Paul Simon and Joan Baez performed. Linda said the experience was “incredible.”
The BRCHP received its initial funding from the Children’s Health Fund and Fund continues to provide significant support. “We are now in the process of securing additional funding locally to insure that the program continues well into the future, said Linda Lee. “The support from our community at large has been very affirming of our work.”
Dr. Denise Sellers and Dr. Alyson McCain both received their Ph.D.s in clinical psychology from LSU. In addition to their work with CHP, they have a private practice (Child and Adolescent Psychological Services) and are Assistant Professors of Pediatrics for LSU, conducting a weekly ADHD Clinic at LSU Mid- City with the Earl K. Long population. (“We spend more time with each other than with our husbands!”)
Members of the BR Children’s Health Project get in the Christmas spirit: L to R; Winnie Harris, Driver/Registrar; Shameka Williams, Social Worker; Jeff Soileau; Health Educator; Tracy Parker, Nurse Practitioner; Jennifer Hackler, Art Therapist; Schaun Morgan, Case Manager; Alyson McCain, Psychologist; Shelly Dubriel, Registered Nurse; Linda Lee, Program Administrator; Denise Sellers, Psychologist; and Jimmie Badon, Driver/Registrar. (Photo courtesy of BRCHP)
Paul Simon, Co-founder of Children’s Health Fund, performs for the Fund with Joan Baez. (Photo courtesy of CHF)
BR Children’s Health Project team having some Christmas fun. Photo courtesy of BRCHP.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.