Minnesota State University’s new Rural Behavioral Health Clinic is ready to ramp up its caseload, said its manager at an open house Wednesday.
The event served as a grand opening to the public, after the university and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota unveiled plans for the clinic in September. The health insurer pledged $5 million toward its formation.
The clinic’s first full-time clinician will start next week, while mental health counseling and social work interns are already in the fold, said Clinic Manager Addie Evans.
Students, under the supervision of volunteer faculty, have been working with about 15 clients so far. Bringing in the first of two planned clinicians full time, along with a case manager, will gradually enable the site to take in more clients either in person or through telehealth.
The clinic is as much about expanding mental health counseling access in rural Minnesota as it is about preparing students for the field, Evans said.
“We have a two-pronged approach, which is to serve clients but also to develop our workforce, the rural workforce specifically,” she said.
Allison Koenig, a mental health counseling intern, found out about the new clinic at an internship fair last year. Her involvement on the clinic’s steering committee gave her a close look at how much goes into starting a new facility.
“That’s what makes tonight really special, being a grand opening and seeing it come to life,” she said.
Working with clients ranging from children to older adults appealed to her about the opportunity. The experience will help inform what she ends up doing after graduation, she said.
Being a training clinic, the client rooms have cameras in them. With a client’s permission, interns can review their sessions with supervisors.
One unique part about a training clinic is how clients get to work with a team of providers including interns and their professional supervisors, said Darcie Davis-Gage, director of the The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health. The clinic, located at 1600 Warren St., Suite 6, is part of the center at MSU.
Having a rural-informed approach to counseling also sets the clinic apart, Davis-Gage said. Her hope is students working in the clinic will be more likely to seek jobs in rural settings.
There’s a desperate need for mental health providers in rural Minnesota. Brett Hart, vice president of behavioral health and mental health parity at Blue Cross and Blue Shield, said 80% of Minnesota counties are within mental health service shortage areas.
That significant need, Hart said, makes the new clinic an exciting development.
“The best way to keep professionals in a rural setting is to train in a rural setting,” he said. “What’s happening here is not just providing services for individuals who desperately need that, but also creating the next generation of professionals who are going to stay in communities like Mankato and others throughout the state.”
MSU President Edward Inch sees the clinic as a potential model for other rural areas.
“It has every opportunity for this to grow and to serve needs that have been underserved for so long, and to prepare students and professionals to serve those needs through their careers,” he said.
Along with the health insurer’s $5 million pledge, additional clinic funding is coming in the form of $1.5 million allocated by the Minnesota Legislature and $1 million in federal funding.