Caring Through COVID: Elevating the Importance of Community-Based, Employee Focused Resources in Mental Health Care
Date and Time
Thursday Jun 9, 2022
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM EDT
Location
Attend in person:
Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth
500 Market Street, Portsmouth
Join virtually through zoom, registration link to be sent in your event confirmation email.
Fees/Admission
No Charge
Contact Information
Benjamin VanCamp
Send Email
Description
The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth is partnering with NAMI New Hampshire to host a roundtable discussion on Thursday, June 9 from 9:30-10:30AM to elevate the importance of mental health resources available to employers and their employees and families in Portsmouth and throughout New Hampshire. During this discussion, panelists will address the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in the business community, the importance of strengthening the mental health of our workforce and their families, innovative solutions to support employees, and the resources and programs available to address current and future mental health challenges in the workplace.
We hope you’ll join Susan Stearns, Executive Director, NAMI New Hampshire; Justin Looser, New Hampshire Administrative Market Director of Behavioral Health for HCA Healthcare –Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Parkland Medical Center in Derry, and Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester; and you, our local business leaders for this roundtable discussion moderated by Ben VanCamp, President, Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth.
Panelists:
- Susan Stearns, Executive Director, NAMI New Hampshire
- Justin Looser, New Hampshire Administrative Market Director of Behavioral Health, HCA Healthcare – Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Parkland Medical Center in Derry, and Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester
- Dennis Walker, Vice President of Clinical Operations – Emergency Services and Intake, Seacoast Mental Health Center
In New Hampshire, the latest data shows that more than 16% of the population, or roughly 221,000 people have a mental health condition. Of that population, 57,000 adults have a serious mental illness and 15,000 Granite Staters ages 12-17 have depression. And those are the known cases. Mental illness can go undiagnosed, and a lack of resources or proper health care can be a barrier to receiving treatment. In fact, more than half of people with a mental health condition in the U.S. did not receive any treatment last year, and of the 70,000 adults in New Hampshire who did not receive mental health care.
As communities around New Hampshire continue to grapple with addressing the mental and behavioral health challenges, organizations like NAMI-NH and the Portsmouth Chamber Collaborative are looking for opportunities to both raise awareness of current programs and treatment while also building new relationships with community partners that could help address short-term and long-term workplace challenges associated with mental illness. Initiatives to partner with businesses and create pathways to employment for Granite Staters struggling with addiction, or education and training for employers to help address mental illness in the workplace are just some of the pieces that currently exist in our communities. However, there is a challenge in both communicating what resources are available and coordinating across sectors to ensure as many Granite State employers, employees and their families as possible can access these programs.
By bringing together key partners who have a stake in the wellbeing of individuals and businesses, this roundtable aims to shine a light on programs that currently exist to help employers support employees and their families address mental illness. The roundtable will also help lay the groundwork for future opportunities for businesses, health care leaders, and policy makers to expand or create programs that can address gaps in mental health in the workplace.
