EDITORIAL: Mental health care gets a boost
Overall health isn’t limited to a person’s physical condition. Mental wellness plays an equally important role.
But with limited resources in rural areas like Montana, it can sometimes be a struggle for communities to effectively and efficiently treat issues such as depression and addiction that can have profound impacts on a person’s well-being and the greater community.
A new statewide effort from Montana Healthcare Foundation aims to bridge that gap by weaving mental and behavioral health treatment into primary care.
Two regional health-care systems, North Valley Hospital and the Salish Kootenai Tribal Health Department, will get a slice of more than $700,000 in grants toward this important effort. The funds could be used to recruit qualified mental health professionals or to train medical staff on how to better recognize addictions and other mental illnesses. North Valley Hospital plans to use the funds to build its school-based programs, while the tribal health department will initially focus on chronic pain and opioid abuse.
Programs like these will have deep value in Montana, where there is a documented shortage of behavioral health providers. Montana’s high suicide rate, issues with alcohol abuse and gaps in treating behavioral health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder remain concerning. This grant is an important step toward finding solutions to these ongoing challenges.
Help for Samaritan House
One of the most notable charitable efforts in the Flathead for many years has been the Samaritan House, which provides housing for the indigent and people who are down on their luck.
Unfortunately, federal aid that the facility has counted on for 14 years came to an unexpected and abrupt end this year. To make up for the lost $57,000, the homeless shelter’s executive director, Chris Krager, has scrambled for new sources of support as we enter into the dangerous winter season.
The good news is that the initial response has been very generous. In particular, the Whitefish Community Foundation has already donated $20,000. If other civic organizations and kind-hearted citizens can make a similar gesture, Samaritan House may be able to get through the short term without turning away those in need.
How the funding gap will be met in the future is a more daunting question, but we applaud the Whitefish Community Foundation and others who are helping out. Donations may be sent to Samaritan House, 124 Ninth Ave. W., Kalispell MT 59901.