MIND, BODY AND

MIND, BODY AND WELLNESS

BEHAVIORAL CONSULTANTS AND PHYSICIANS FORM A POWERFUL PARTNERSHIP.

When it comes to overall health, how we behave— what we eat and drink, how physically active we are and how we relate to other people—has a dramatic effect on both body and mind. That’s why behavioral consultants with the Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (NBI) work alongside physicians.

“When you consider some of the most common chronic conditions, like obesity, diabetes and asthma, there’s an emotional component to the behaviors that underlie them, something causing some level of angst or discomfort,” explains Laura Budinick, PsyD, Chief Administrative Officer and Vice President of Behavioral Health at NBI. “How the patient deals with that emotional component can either benefit treatment or create a problem.”

The IBH program, which has been in place at NBI since 2016 thanks to a grant from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, provides needed behavioral help in a convenient and accessible way. “Traditionally, the model of care has always involved patients working with their treating physician, and that physician referred them out to other specialists as needed,” Dr. Budinick says. Too often, that resulted in a disconnect in the patient’s treatment, she explains—either the patient didn’t follow through, or the different providers didn’t coordinate care.

With IBH, however, behavioral consultants are integrated directly into primary care offices so referrals can be timely and seamless. In December, with funding from The Nicholas Group, the IBH team began to refine its approach by adopting the Cherokee Model of Integrated Behavioral Health, first developed at Cherokee Health Systems in Tennessee and now being used nationwide.

PREVENTIVE STEPS

By taking a wellness-first approach and assessing the whole person, the Cherokee model opens up care for more patients because a diagnosis is not needed in order to treat, Dr. Budinick explains.

At appointments, primary care providers routinely inquire about the patient’s physical and behavioral health, which can include mood, energy, sleep and the ways they deal with stress. A behavioral consultant is on hand to provide assessments, interventions and referrals for patients exhibiting any of a wide range of behaviors. These can range from sleep hygiene and medication adherence to suicide risk and substance abuse.

“With this approach, you don’t have to wait until someone has a pathologized illness before you start addressing the conditions that are affecting their healthcare outcomes,” Dr. Budinick explains. “The Cherokee model is about looking at behavior that will keep you well.

“We’re never going to eliminate illness or trauma,” she says. “But if you can get prevention in place, you’re shoring up the resiliency of the individual so that the impact of an illness might not be as great.”

To learn more about behavioral health services available at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, call 973.926.3465 or visit www.rwjbh.org/newarkbeth.