Seniors living in rural areas of New York State often have to travel long distances to get medical care when they need the services of a mental health specialist.
A privately-funded initiative is aiming to bridge that barrier. Project "Echo" will pair specialists at UR Medicine with primary care physicians in 23 Western and Central New York counties.
Project leader Michael Hasselberg, a UR psychiatric nurse practitioner, says they'll meet by videoconference every two weeks to confer on individual cases and share knowledge.
"If you can potentially utilize a multidisciplinary team of specialists at the academic center to increase the capacity or knowledge base of the rural provider, the idea is that in that area, that provider will become the local geriatric psychiatry expert."
Hasselberg says they're currently recruiting rural practitioners who are interested in the program. He hopes the effort will get underway by late summer. Those interested may contact Hasselberg directly at michael_hasselberg@URMC.rochester.edu
Project Echo is funded by a $345,000 grant from the private New York State Health Foundation.
