Mobile, Ala.-based AltaPointe Health has launched a weekly online peer mental health support group to help veterans transition from military to civilian life.
The group meets once a week via Zoom to provide a supportive environment for veterans who do not feel comfortable attending in-person appointments, according to a Jan. 26 news release. Participation is voluntary and flexible, with no requirement to turn on cameras or share real names. The sessions are designed to reduce isolation, foster connection and provide mental health support through shared experience. Discussion topics may include PTSD, depression, stress and other life changes.
“This is a peer meeting where veterans are helping other veterans who may not want to come to a clinic,” Ron Olmsted, veteran program director at AltaPointe, said. “They can be anonymous, or they don’t have to be. They can just listen to the forum and chime in with their comments, or just listen.”
Health systems across the country are expanding virtual behavioral health services. Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy scaled a virtual behavioral health division across four states, serving 35 hospitals and delivering psychiatric interventions to patients in crisis. The model has allowed for the discharge of 30% to 35% of behavioral health patients entering the emergency department in a crisis. Without such interventions, hospitals often admit nearly 95% to 100% of these patients to behavioral health beds, according to Patty Marrow, vice president of behavioral health services at the system.
AltaPointe Health serves 45,000 patients annually across Alabama. It operates two psychiatric hospitals, one behavioral health crisis center and 22 outpatient behavioral healthcare clinics.
