Novant Health now offers mental health services at its Freedom Drive Michael Jordan Family Clinic through a partnership with HopeWay.
Courtesy of Novant Health
Novant Health said Thursday that it is partnering with nonprofit mental health center HopeWay to expand access to mental health services to uninsured patients and underserved communities.
Through the partnership, which includes $150,000 in financial support from the Novant Health Foundation, Hopeway now offers mental health services at Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinic at 3149 Freedom Drive and Hope Community Clinic of East Charlotte at 3646 Central Ave.
The hope Community Clinic, A free clinic, it offers a range of services for uninsured patients, including counseling, medical and pediatric services. Michael Jordan Family Clinic serves both insured and uninsured patients and offers a financial assistance program to help patients who might not otherwise be able to pay for services.
And HopeWay plans to host additional clinics in the future, according to Novant Health.
The partnership is part of a larger Novant Health initiative to increase access to mental health care in underserved communities, supported by $340,000 in funding from The Duke Endowment.
“Together, we are providing a fully integrated behavioral health care model that allows us to serve a diverse and underserved population, break down the stigma of mental health and increase access to psychiatric treatment,” said director of medical services for Hopeway, Dr. Kevin Marra, in a statement.
Help meet a need for mental health care
Securing mental health care can be especially difficult for people without insurance, Novant Health said in a statement.
As of January 2020, 25% of patients in Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center’s emergency room for behavioral health services were uninsured, according to the hospital system.
The expansion of mental health services at both clinics will feature an integrated model of care. That means each patient will receive a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation followed by a treatment plan that includes collaboration with the clinic’s medical team, therapy, and medications if needed.
The importance of mental health care was highlighted in the Charlotte area following Sunday’s death by suicide of former Miss USA and Charlotte’s attorney Cheslie Kryst. Kryst had been dealing with depression, which she had hidden from family and friends, his mother, April Simpkins, said in a statement Wednesday.
michael jordan clinic
The Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinic on Freedom Drive opened in 2019 after Hornets owner and NBA legend Michael Jordan donated $7.2 million to the hospital system to open two community clinics.
The second Michael Jordan Family Clinic, on Statesville Road, it opened a year later.
Both clinics are designed to provide a primary care service to people who might not otherwise have access to a doctor. And the clinics connect patients with an on-site social worker and other resources.
“(It’s) from the heart: a passion for what this city, this state has given back to me,” Jordan said at the opening of the first clinic in 2019. “I can never return what you have given me. But this is a start.”
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