July is Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Awareness Mont

BIPOC mental health awareness month aims to address critical disparities in mental health care access and outcomes. This observance underscores the unique challenges faced by BIPOC communities and calls for proactive engagement from health care professionals.

Key Issues & Opportunities for Provider Engagement:

BIPOC individuals experience disproportionately high rates of mental illness, coupled with significant barriers to accessing quality care. Providers can support their patients and help reduce the disparities in the following ways:

• Identifying and addressing socioeconomic inequities: Integrate health-related social needs screenings into appointments. Provide referrals to community resources when needed.
• Reducing cultural stigma: Stigma surrounding mental health within BIPOC communities often prevents individuals from seeking help. Have open conversations about mental health with your patients.
• Addressing systemic racism and discrimination: Historical and ongoing discriminatory practices within health care contribute to mistrust and poor outcomes. Work to build open and trusting relationships with your patients.
• Understanding the Impact of Bias: Implicit bias among providers can unintentionally affect diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient-provider communication. Click to view Cultural Toolkit can help mitigate these biases and promote more equitable care.
• Promoting Culturally Competent Care: Cultural competence is essential for delivering effective mental health care to BIPOC patients. This involves understanding cultural beliefs and practices – recognizing how cultural backgrounds influence patients' understanding of mental health and their preferences for treatment.
• Adapting communication styles: Tailoring communication to be respectful, sensitive, and understandable to patients from diverse backgrounds.
• Utilizing culturally relevant assessment tools: Employing validated tools that account for cultural differences in symptom presentation.

Available Resources:

• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 (24/7/365). Provides immediate support via call, text, or online chat. Resources are also available for individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
• PA Support & Referral Helpline: 1-855-284-2494 (TTY: 724-631-5600)
• BlackLine: Crisis Call Line for the Black community: 1-800-604-5841, info@callblackline.org.

Highmark Wholecare Support: Highmark Wholecare is committed to supporting the mental health needs of all members. Resources vary depending on the member's health care benefits:

• Highmark Wholecare Medicare D-SNP members
• Highmark Wholecare covers some levels of treatment including inpatient, outpatient, and medication management. Levels of care that are not covered by Medicare D-SNP may be covered/ coordinated with the member’s Behavioral Health Managed Care Organization (BH-MCO). To locate a treatment provider for Highmark Wholecare PA Medicare D-SNP members, click here.
• Highmark Wholecare Medicaid members

PA Medicaid recipients’ behavioral health benefits are managed by a BH-MCO. To find the BH-MCO for the county in which the individual resides, visit the DHS website.