A message from our pediatric director | | |
Many parents have faced the distressing situation of taking their child to an emergency room for behavioral health concerns only to find there are no available beds, resulting in the child being sent home with insufficient follow-up. Or, their child is forced to stay, or "board," in emergency rooms for extended periods while waiting for an appropriate hospital bed. This gap in care highlights an urgent need for improved support and solutions within hospital settings.
In response to these issues, MC3 has expanded its consultative services to enhance support in select emergency rooms across Michigan. Beginning this month, MC3 now offers no-cost child psychiatry consultations for providers treating young patients at participating emergency departments. This includes guidance on diagnosis, medication, behavioral interventions, suicide risk assessments, safety planning, and local resources post-discharge. To support this endeavor, we are thrilled that Dr. Nasuh Malas is serving as the clinical lead and that Drs. Victor Hong and Hannah Reynard are joining our consulting psychiatrist team.
Our goals with this expanded service are to support emergency room staff in managing the complexities of pediatric behavioral crises, offer critical aid during boarding situations, and collaboratively address pediatric mental health care demands.
We hope that this service supports our ER colleagues as well as families awaiting critical higher levels of care, and we look forward to learning together and continuously enhancing the service during this pilot phase.
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Dr. Sheila Marcus
MC3 Pediatric Medical Director
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MC3 will be closed on Monday, May 26 for Memorial Day
Prescribers are still welcome to submit consultation requests during that time, but those consults will not be coordinated until the MC3 team returns to the office.
| | Emergency & Crisis Services Consultation | | | | MC3 now offers no-cost child psychiatry consultations to providers at select emergency department (ED) partner sites in Michigan. Through phone consultations, psychiatrists offer guidance on diagnostic questions, medication recommendations, and appropriate behavioral interventions for patients up to age 21. | | "Lisa changed the trajectory of my life" | | |
"She has been such a fabulous support during my pregnancy and postpartum—well-resourced, caring, and a total godsend!"
That's what one MC3 Perinatal Patient Care participant had to say about Perinatal Behavioral Health Consultant Lisa Anderson, LMSW, who was recently honored with a Making a Difference award from Michigan Medicine.
Through our Perinatal Patient Care service, providers in select counties can refer their perinatal patients for short-term therapy, connection to resources, and follow-up support.
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Lisa Anderson, LMSW
MC3 Perinatal Behavioral Health Consultant
| | Educational Opportunities | Browse our library of recorded educational presentations on behavioral/mental health topics and see what live trainings we have scheduled. | |  | Explore our free resources for providers who treat youth and perinatal people, including Psychopharmacology Reference Cards, Pediatric Resource Library, Perinatal Provider Toolkit, and Parent Toolkit. | | | Check out our suite of behavioral/mental health services available to support prescribing outpatient health care providers in Michigan. | | |
Training opportunity: AAP Pediatric Mental Health Skill Building ECHO®
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is hosting an ECHO program focused on supporting primary care professionals in providing behavioral and mental health care to pediatric patients and their families.
The ECHO will be held every other Monday at 1 p.m. ET, April 21 through September 8.
| | Jessica Jenkins, MC3 Outreach Manager, attended the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Michigan Section Annual Clinical Snow Meeting in Thompsonville, MI, in January. | | | MC3 Perinatal Behavioral Health Consultants Kari Foote-Johnson, LMSW, PMH-C, and Emily Gutman, LMSW, IMH-E, delivered a presentation on Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) at a Maternal Infant Health Program Talk Matters training in Detroit this April. | | | Dr. Maria Muzik, MC3 Perinatal Medical Director, was honored at Morehouse College in recognition of her contributions and the impactful work of Zero to Thrive in supporting black fathers and families. Corinna Trantham, Associate Director of Engagement Strategy for Zero to Thrive and MC3 Perinatal, also attended to represent Zero to Thrive. | | | L–R: Jessica Pierce, M.D., M.Sc., Clinical Assistant Professor, Michigan Medicine, Sheila Marcus, M.D., Pediatric Medical Director, MC3, Lia Gaggino, M.D., FAAP, Consulting Pediatrician, MC3, Cassandra Kotajarvi, LMSW, Regional Behavioral Health Consultant, MC3, and Kristie Hechtman, Project Manager, Upper Peninsula Health Care Solutions (UPHCS), met at the UPHCS conference in Marquette, MI, this April. | | | MC3 Regional & Perinatal Behavior Health Consultants (BHCs) were joined by MC3 leaders, admin staff, and consulting psychiatrists at the BHC Annual Meeting in Ann Arbor this April. | | | MC3 Regional BHCs, leaders, admin staff, and consulting psychiatrists during a break at the BHC Annual Meeting. | | | MC3 team members enjoyed lunch outdoors during the BHC Annual Meeting. | | | The MC3 team shared a moment together before BHCs returned to training at the BHC Annual Meeting. | | | Jessica Jenkins representing MC3 at the Michigan Center for Rural Health 28th Annual Michigan Rural Health Conference in Mt. Pleasant, MI, April 24 through 25. | | | WATCH: MC3 medical directors explain the program | | MC3 is part of the Michigan Medicine Department of Psychiatry and is funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) via general funds, Medicaid Administration funds, and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funds. | | | | | |
