Oldham County Healthy Minds Healthy Lives will be implemented in Oldham County, Kentucky. Seven Counties Services in Louisville, Kentucky, a community mental health center serving seven counties in north central Kentucky since 1989, will work with the Oldham County Health Department in Lagrange, Kentucky to train individuals (e.g., school personnel, emergency first responders, law enforcement, veterans and their families) in Mental Health First Aid. Mental Health First Aiders will be trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SED). Seven Counties Services will establish linkages with schools and/or community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services. In addition, Seven Counties Services will train emergency services personnel to identify persons with mental disorder and employ crisis de-escalation techniques as well as identify available resources in the community.
The population to be served will be Oldham County residents, which is estimated to be 66,799 in the 2020 American Community Survey. On average Oldham County residents experience an average of 3.9 days of poor mental health per month. Twelve percent of the population reported experiencing frequent mental distress. According to the 2020 County Health Rankings Report, the ration of mental health providers in Oldham County is 1 for every 1,090 people in the county compared to Kentucky’s ration of 1 provider for every 440 people.
The project goals and measurable objectives are as follows. The goal will be for trained community members and partners to recognize the signs and symptoms of serious mental illness and emotional disturbances, to actively identify youth and adults who have those signs and symptoms and to create new linkages that support early intervention and referral to assessment, treatment and support services. Citizens will be trained to safely respond to individuals with mental disorders, particularly those with serious mental illness or emotional disturbance. Project Objectives for this goal are as follows: Objective 1: 700 Mental Health First Aiders (100 in year 1, 150 each in years 2-5) will be trained in Mental Health First Aid curricula and certified as Mental Health First Aiders; Objective 2: 60 Oldham County mental health workers (12 per year) will be trained in Mental Health First Aid and certified as Mental Health First Aiders. Objective 3: Referrals of unduplicated people (Year 1: 100; Year 2: 475; Year 3: 1,075; Year 4: 1,900; and Year 5: 2,950) will be made to assessment, treatment or support services based on SAMHSA guidelines. Objective 4: 90% of those completing Mental Health First Aid training will pass the course quiz with a score of 80% or higher.