“The behavioral health needs that exist, coupled with the lack of clinical resources to adequately address the issues, have a far-reaching and negative impact on the overall health of our residents and our community,” said Mayor Tom McNamara. Healthcare experts from around the country will meet with the local group over the next eight months, with a focus on the region’s lack of psychiatric providers.

This quote is taken from an article recently published by MyStateline, ‘More people in Rockford suffering from behavioral mental health disorders than US average’ (2023). You can click the blurb above to read the article in full, but the premise is straightforward: there is a mental health crisis across the nation and Rockford is no exception. The Rockford Regional Health Council is committed to the full-person health of all our community members and we see mental/behavioral health as a significant part of that. We are extremely excited to say that our board President, Carol Schuster, will be a member of the aforementioned group of local healthcare experts to discuss this issue.

You can also watch the clip below of the news segment this initiative was featured in. Within this clip, Winnebago County Health Department Director Dr. Sandra Martell notes that the solution may lie within Community Health Workers, which is a topic we spoke about in our prior post and can be seen here.