PROVIDENCE – Bradley Hospital will receive $225,000 in support from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island to enhance and expand the Pediatric Psychiatry Resource Network, BCBSRI announced Tuesday. The grants will come in five yearly installments of $45,000.
The network is a children’s health consultation team at Bradley that supports pediatric primary care providers serving children and adolescents with mental health care needs. The network, called PediPRN, is run in collaboration the R.I. Department of Health and the Heath Resources and Services Administration’s Pediatrics Mental Health Care Access Program.
“We are fortunate that we were able to secure another five years of funding for PediPRN due to our partnerships with public and private funders,” said Dr. Karyn Horowitz, director of outpatient child psychiatry and behavioral health services at Lifespan. “The national shortage of child mental health providers, coupled with the increased prevalence of mental health disorders, requires a close collaboration between pediatrics and psychiatry in order to meet the needs of children and their families.”
BCBSRI said that the program increases access for children and adolescents to mental health care by augmenting primary care practices with increased access to psychiatric consultation services.