Mental Health & Wellness In May 2018, the Board of Trustees approved a $12/quarter increase to the Medical and Counseling fee to offset a state-mandated increase in the hourly pay rate for nurses employed by Medical Services; to fund a new permanent treatment provider for Counseling Services; and to provide tele-psychiatry services. The addition of a new staff member was intended to meet Ellensburg campus students’ growing demand for mental health counseling and crisis services. Meeting Demand for Services: Counseling Services made several changes to its service delivery model due to the inability to secure a suitable hire during FY19. The goal was to increase, rather than just maintain, mental health service access for Ellensburg-campus students. To this end, Counseling Services: • Developed a Scope of Practice policy to better delineate parameters of service to increase the equity of service provision to students; • Used data-informed decision-making for allocating service availability quarter by quarter, prioritizing rapid access for routine initial appointments and crisis counseling appointments, while also providing short-term therapeutic services; • Emphasized collaborative treatment planning between service-seeking students and professional staff; • Increased access points for mental health education and support. Service Demand Outcomes: Compared to FY18, from July 1, 2018 through April 19, 2019: • More students attended at least one appointment with Counseling Services (948 vs 914). • There was a 30-percent increase in initial appointments (735 vs 565) with only a 1-day increase in wait-time for an appointment (5.83 vs 4.99). • Average wait-time for an unscheduled crisis appointment decreased from 1.07 days to .13 days. • Even with Scope of Practice, only 4.7 percent of clients were referred out after the initial appointment, and 6.2 percent of clients were referred out after intake. • There was a 67.8-percent increase (146 vs 87) in outreach and consultations provided to the university community. • Two drop-in consultation sites, one with Music and one with Athletics, were established. Each provides two hours of weekly drop-in support for students (“Let’s Talk” program). • A part-time, temporary, licensed mental health counselor who is fluent in Japanese was hired to help, as needed, with counseling Asia University America Program (AUAP) students. • An online presence to provide information and basic education to students was established. • During fall 2017 and winter 2018, a total of 187 students were placed on a waitlist for ongoing individual therapy. During fall 2018 and winter 2019, a total of 87 students were placed on a waitlist for ongoing individual therapy. That is a 53.5 percent reduction in the number of students who had to wait for individual therapy after completing the initial service intake requirements. Continued Challenges: • Volume of need: Medical Services providers continue to see an increasing number of students presenting with mental health concerns, including significant diagnoses such as bipolar disorder and psychotic disorders. • Maintaining full staffing: Although Counseling Services has successfully filled the position funded through last year’s fee increase, another staff member is now retiring, and the Assistant Director for Training position is vacant.
3 Board of Trustees Minutes May 16-17, 2019
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