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RiverValley, OH partner on online mental health platform

Messenger-Inquirer - 8/28/2021

Aug. 28—RiverValley Behavioral Health and Owensboro Health have partnered together to launch an online platform for mental and behavioral health resources, making credible information more accessible to the community.

The online platform, called CredibleMind, is a database with a digital library of physician-approved and vetted information and resources regarding mental and behavioral health.

The CredibleMind platform contains information related to more than 200 topics, such as anxiety, depression, parenting, working from home and relationships, and it features more than 10,000 expert-vetted resources through articles, podcasts, apps, videos and more. It also evaluates new resources on an ongoing basis.

CredibleMind works with organizations and health care providers to also link individuals with local resources available to address mental and behavioral health needs in their own community, in addition to providing free access to its database.

Dr. James Tidwell, OH vice president of Population Health Services, said the partnership between RVBH, OH and CredibleMind was derived from the hospitals community needs assessment, which indicates a need for more mental health resources, which he said is a prevalent concern in not only the region, but throughout Kentucky and the nation.

"There aren't enough behavioral health, mental health providers, and there are just a lot of patients with those needs," he said. "We have been trying to address those needs for a long time."

Tidwell said OH has worked in recent years to provide addiction recovery services and intense outpatient services in an effort to address those needs in its service area, which he said covers around 18 counties.

"In spite of all of those things, we know that there is still a great need out there for mental health services," he said.

Dr. Wanda Figueroa, RVBH chief executive officer, said addressing those community needs is important in helping the community progress as a whole.

"It's a step in the right direction because mental health is a community health issue, it's not an isolated issue," she said. "The whole community's affected, one way or the other. When we collectively have good mental health, then there is more stability."

The unique thing about CredibleMind, according to Lionel Phelps, RVBH vice president for continuous quality improvement, is that it offers credible information that is physician reviewed.

"We know a lot of people will seek out their own information first before they come here, we just want to make sure they get the right, accurate information. There's a lot of misinformation," he said. "This is the resource that we trust and know that it's going to lead people in the right direction, and when they're ready to talk to us or ready to seek out services, they know what to ask for at that point."

The platform also enables the organizations to see what content is being consumed the most by those within the services areas, which Tidwell said helps target specific community concerns or needs.

Anyone interested in accessing CredibleMind information or being directed to local available health care resources can visit HealthyMind.CredibleMind.com

Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360

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