JHF’s youth behavioral health team participates in Philadelphia summit

Stanford University’s Dr. Steve Adelsheim presented at a gathering on teen mental and behavior health.

Jewish Healthcare Foundation's teen behavioral health team participated in the Health Care Improvement Foundation's youth behavioral health summit, hosted in partnership with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS), and Jefferson - Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia on September 24.

The aim of the summit was to equip medical, behavioral health, and community-based providers to better support the needs of youth through the development of a trauma-informed system and strengthening connections with community-based resources.

Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness present by the age of 14 and three-fourths by age 24, yet nearly 80 percent of American of youth do not have access to care, said keynote speaker Dr. Steve Adelsheim, director of Stanford University's Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing.

A Squirrel Hill native, Adlesheim is leading efforts to create stand-alone, integrated care sites for young people ages 12-25 to access early mental health supports, along with school support and web-based connectivity.Called allcove and inspired in part by Australia's headspace model, such programs improve young people's mental, social, and emotional well-being through high quality, integrated, age-appropriate care. Designed by engaging a diverse youth advisory, allcove places youth and families at the center of the decision-making process, creating smoother transitions in care, and flexible engagement over time.

Adelsheim presented the allcove model to JHF and several of our behavioral health partners in March. JHF is working to develop a similar space for teens who live, attend school, and receive services in Squirrel Hill through its 15217 teen mental health initiative.

In addition to the summit, Deborah Murdoch and Practice Transformation Specialist, Carol Frazer, also met with behavioral health partners from the PA Health Funders Collaborative, as well as Susan Choi and Kelsey Salazar from the Health Care Improvement Foundation's Youth BH Initiative to explore opportunities to expand JHF's youth mental health advocacy efforts across Pennsylvania.