Strengthening the Front Line: How Virginia Expands Pediatric and Maternal Mental Health
The Virginia Mental Health Access Program (VMAP) helps build primary care capacity from within. Working directly with hospitals and health systems, VMAP expands access to pediatric and maternal mental health care, supports providers with training and guidance, and tackles one of the state’s most pressing workforce challenges.
// By Susan Dubuque //
One in five.
That’s how many children live with mental health issues. It’s also how many women experience mental health problems like depression or anxiety during pregnancy or in the first year after childbirth.
These patients don’t wait in specialty clinics. They sit in primary care offices, and in many regions of Virginia, the specialist they might need doesn’t exist within driving distance.
That reality has forced the state to ask a different question: What if the answer isn’t more specialists tomorrow, but stronger primary care today?
That question led to the creation of the Virginia Mental Health Access Program, commonly known as VMAP.
Rachel Reynolds, PhD, assistant director of operations, VMAP
Rachel Reynolds, PhD, assistant director of operations for the program, says, “At its core, VMAP is a workforce development initiative. Our goal is to help primary and maternal health care providers care for pediatric and perinatal patients who need mental health services. And we do that by offering training and support through hospital and health system hubs across Virginia.”
Continue reading to see how these partnerships expand access to care and give physicians confidence to act when their patients need help most.