Mission
In November 2020, the Seattle Children’s Care Network (SCCN) and Seattle Children’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine launched an innovative Pediatric Integrated Behavioral Health Initiative in collaboration with the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (both the AIMS Center and the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. The first round of a year-long learning collaborative promoting integrated care in the SCCN’s community-based pediatric practices kicked off with six participating practices ranging in location from Mount Vernon to Chehalis who serve a diverse population of patients and families. Larry Wissow, MD, and Kathy Brewer, MS, LMHC are the lead partners from Seattle Children’s, Sheryl Morelli, MD and Scotty Sonntag, LICSW, are the lead partners from SCCN and Sara Barker, MPH, and John Kern, MD, represent the UW AIMS Center.
The collaborative’s single largest source of support is the Seattle Children’s Guild Association, with additional support from King County’s Accountable Community of Health (Healthier Here), Regence BlueShield, and SAMHSA (through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network). Participating practices will receive support and training to start or expand integrated care using a pediatric modification of the collaborative care model plus evidence-informed brief mental health interventions. The collaborative is organized around a six-point “change framework”, grounded in the IHI’s Model for Improvement principles, that emphasizes family involvement, attention to the social determinants of health, and the importance of a trauma-informed office culture for supporting staff and families.