May is Mental Health Awareness Month and, according to CareSource Georgia, more than 1.4 million adults in Georgia live with a mental health condition, but 391,000 go without care.
“Additionally, more than 4.9 million Georgians live in an area that does not have enough mental health professionals. The situation is even more severe in rural counties, where access is hindered by provider shortages, persistent stigma and limited broadband access,” states the CareSource press release.
CareSource is a nationally recognized nonprofit serving over 2 million members, according to its website. Founded in 1989, CareSource offers one of the largest Medicaid managed care plans in the U.S., offering a variety of health insurance plans, including medicaid, medicare and health insurance marketplace products, to multiple states. Dr. Minh Nguyen, chief medical officer with Care-Source Georgia, recognizes the growing problem of access to care for mental health in rural areas.
“In the medical field, I’ve been a primary care provider, a physician, and am now a leader for a national care organization so I have seen the impact of mental health and the problems for care from different perspectives,” said Nguyen. “The most pressing challenge for mental health is access to care and low employment of mental health care providers. Historically there is a stigmentation with getting mental health care and spreading awareness, which has played a role in these challenges.”
According to Nguyen, the first step to care is routine behavioral health screenings, especially in areas with few mental health specialists. These screenings can identify early signs of mental health issues.
“Then the provider can work with the patient to identify these signs and create an individualized care plan to assist them,” said Nguyen. “When people live in rural areas, there are many issues related to mental health that are not discussed.
That is why CareSource has a team, called Life-Services, to assist with that. Mental health is affected by an individual's life circumstances and different factors known as the social determinants of health.”
According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the social determinants of health are “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.” It can be broken down into five main groups, including economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context.
“All of those groups can lead to rise of untreated mental health issues due to the inaccess of care or lack of transportation to reach care, which is a major factor in rural areas,” said Nguyen. “To address this, CareSource created Wellness on Wheels that is a mobile medic unit. Many communities have mobile health units to assist with this disparity and CareSource also has a school-based health administrator that works with school health centers throughout the state to help schools get the resources they need to provide optimal care.”
In Baldwin County, Communities in Schools provides the Bee Well Clinic, which is a school-based primary care clinic serving students and employees of the Baldwin County School District and their families. It provides care regardless of insurance’s ability to pay. In addition, Georgia College & State University launched its own mobile mental health unit in 2024 to reach multiple rural areas and provide care while also allowing nursing and public health students training for future careers. MobileHealth, located at 2809 N. Columbia St. in Milledgeville, also offers occupational health and employee screening medical services.
According to Nguyen, other ways to access care could be calling the Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL), which is available 24/7 for confidential support and referrals at 1-800715-4225. Individuals may also become involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to locate resources or spread awareness by visiting namiga.org/resources/ crisis-info-2/.
“In addition, individuals are encouraged to explore and support local resources. Many libraries, churches and nonprofit organizations often host mental health workshops and support groups,” said Nguyen. “Mental health is something that extends beyond a single month and while awareness during this time is beneficial, it's essential to find and support access to care in your area year-round.”
To learn about Care-Source and its plans, visit caresource.com/ga/plans/.