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Hartford HealthCare Community Care Center
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The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a myriad of mental health risk factors. Uncertainty about the coronavirus, interrupted grief, stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and the resulting economic challenges have made many people feel isolated and lonely, increasing anxiety and depression. Couple the pandemic with the current societal and political climate, and it's little wonder that stress levels in the United States are high.
Even adapting mental health services to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 can create new barriers for people who already have mental illness and substance use disorders. Some people have delayed necessary medical and behavioral health care during the pandemic.
Hartford Healthcare’s Behavioral Health Network is committed to addressing the psychological and emotional impact of the stress our communities face. With so many people in need of support we took that challenge and determined that a call center, available 24/7 was the best way to reach out and make our guidance and services available to every caller, any day, all day. Whether the calls are from our own colleagues who may just need to talk, from our established patients who may need some extra support, from folks in the community who may need help in accessing mental health services or from some, in moments of desperation, who use us as a “hotline,” our call center clinicians will always be there.
“We want to support individuals who are struggling,” said Patricia Rehmer, BHN president and HHC senior vice president. “Reports say 75,000 people will die of suicide in this country if we don’t get in front of it. Ours is a well-resourced network, and it’s very important the community has access to these services.”
A $100,000 donation—with $50,000 provided as a challenge grant from an anonymous donor at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving—helped the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network (HHC BHN) meet an increasing need for telehealth services through its Community Care Center hotline. But a service like this requires continued support and we’re hoping our friends will step up to help us help our community.
To make a donation to support the Community Care Center, please fill out the donation form below.