Fellows mentioned in this story: Sondra Leiggi Brandon

From The Maui News:

n an innovative effort to enhance pediatric mental health, The Queen’s Health Systems (Queen’s), the Hawai’i State Department of Health (DOH), and the Hawai’i Community Foundation’s (HCF) Promising Minds initiative announced the launch of the Mental Health Pediatric Access Line (MPAL), the state’s first dedicated warmline designed to significantly improve pediatric mental health services in Maui County by helping primary care providers quickly connect with mental health specialists to better assess, treat and refer patients with behavioral health needs. Launched in August 2024, the MPAL pilot program provides free, same-day support to all pediatric primary care providers from any health system on Maui, Lāna’i and Molokai.

Promoted by the Hawai’i Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, MPAL is designed to enable timely detection, assessment, treatment and referral of patients (ages 0-21) with behavioral health needs through a user-friendly telehealth platform. The warmline, a free and confidential phone service, connects pediatric primary care providers with child and adolescent psychiatrists and care coordinators within 30 minutes or less for consultative support. Spearheaded by HCF’s Promising Minds initiative, the MPAL pilot program is a milestone for the DOH Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Project.

“By partnering with HCF’s Promising Minds initiative and the Hawai’i State Department of Health, we aim to make a meaningful impact by increasing statewide access to pediatric mental health services,” said Sondra Leiggi-Brandon, vice president of patient care, behavioral health, and medicine, The Queen’s Health Systems. “Our goal is to strengthen early prevention and detection by fostering collaboration between primary care providers and behavioral health specialists. This approach paves the way for better infant and early childhood mental health practices, moving from a reactive to a proactive model of care.”

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