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It Takes ALL OF US
Behavioral Health Toolkit
The Situation
North Carolina is in a full-blown state of emergency with climbing suicide rates, emergency rooms filled with children in crisis, and diminishing behavioral health services close to home.
Meanwhile, North Carolina is awash in a $6.5B projected budget surplus over the next two years and millions of unspent federal COVID-19 dollars.
Given the federal resources to address health inequities exacerbated by COVID-19, we have an extraordinary opportunity to build the comprehensive treatment system our citizens deserve.
We must take the opportunity to reimagine behavioral health in North Carolina through comprehensive, ongoing funding allocated for this much-needed care through true system reform.
The Ask
We need NCHA’s hospital members and community partners to help us amplify this message and educate the public on this critical issue, to drive action and funding at the state level.
Opportunities
Below are several ways you can help educate the public about this issue. Included in this toolkit are assets you can use across earned and owned channels. Please contact Cynthia Charles at NCHA at ccharles@ncha.org with questions.
Hospital Blog or Op-ed/Letter to the Editor:
Work with internal marcomms teams to draft an op-ed or blog for your hospital’s website informed by the below talking points and tailored to organizational experience and pitched to local media in the hospitals’ community. NCHA can support drafting and pitching if needed.
Sample topics to adapt:
- My Mental Health Experience: Even for those within health systems, behavioral healthcare isn’t always easy to find. Shortages mean we all face access issues. Share personal experiences and policy recommendations.
- The Crisis in Our Communities: Share anecdotes or data specific to your hospital’s city or region to bring the issue close to home. But it isn’t just here – it’s across the state, which is why a state-level approach is needed.
- Ending the Mental Health Stigma: Might COVID-19 finally dissolve the stubborn stigma around mental health? Every one of us has either struggled or had a love one struggle this year. Let’s normalize getting help – but we can’t do that until we fix our broken system.
- What Every Parent Should Know About Mental Health: Rates of anxiety, depression and eating disorders are on the rise for kids younger and younger. Here are signs to watch out for- and steps to take if you have concerns. To ensure all kids can get the help they need, we must reform our mental health system.
Social Media (Organization)
Share information regarding this critical issue on hospital Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and/or Instagram pages and directing to NCHA landing page.
Sample posts:
- North Carolina in a full-blown state of emergency with climbing suicide rates, emergency rooms filled with children in crisis. [Hospital] joins more than a dozen statewide organizations in urging N.C. leaders to tackle this issue and fund behavioral health care. https://www.nchealthcare.org/mentalhealth/
- Mental illnesses are highly treatable, but skyrocketing demand for services is outpacing the scope and capabilities of the state’s behavioral health system. [Hospital], and other hospitals and organizations around the state are reimagining N.C.’s behavioral health system to better serve our communities. Learn more. https://www.nchealthcare.org/mentalhealth/
Social Media (Personal)
Share a personal, first-person perspective on this critical issue on personal Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and/or Instagram pages and directing to NCHA landing page.
Sample posts:
- As a [nurse], I see the impact that mental health has on physical health and quality of life. North Carolina’s mental health crisis must be addressed so my patients – and all of us – can thrive. Learn more. https://www.nchealthcare.org/mentalhealth/
- N.C. is in a mental health crisis and has over $6 billion in unspent revenue as well as once-in-a-lifetime unspent pandemic relief funding from the federal government. My patients deserve a mental health system that addresses their needs. Join me in urging state leaders to tackle this issue and reform our mental health system. https://www.nchealthcare.org/mentalhealth/
- [I/A loved one] experienced [mental health concern] during the pandemic – and I know [I/they] aren’t alone. North Carolina is in a full-blown state of emergency with climbing suicide rates, emergency rooms filled with children in crisis. Join me in urging state leaders to address our state’s mental health crisis. https://www.nchealthcare.org/mentalhealth/
Social Media (Executive)
LinkedIn – Executive: Leverage executive LinkedIn presence to educate around this critical issue from a local leader perspective.
Sample posts:
- At [organization], we’ve been focused on expanding access to mental healthcare for years. But the pandemic has made one thing clear – the situation is bigger than any hospital can solve. We need state leaders to help us reform the fragmented behavioral health system an ensure North Carolinians can get the care they need before they reach a crisis. https://www.nchealthcare.org/mentalhealth/
- Emergency room visits for mental health conditions are at an all-time high. The dedicated teams at [organization] are working every day to help patients access the care they need – but the reality is there just aren’t enough specialists or beds for patients in crisis. I join healthcare leaders around the state in urging N.C. leaders to tackle this issue and fund behavioral health care. https://www.nchealthcare.org/mentalhealth/
Earned Media – Pitch and Media Alert
Send the media alert and pitch to local media contacts to provide them with the background on the behavioral health crisis as well as guests who would be available for interviews to discuss the crisis in greater detail.
The templated media alert and pitch is guidance to assist with the development of the pitch, which can be customized based on your organization’s voice and brand standards to assure that it comes across as authentic.
Pitch Template:
Our state is in a full-blown state of emergency with climbing suicide rates, emergency rooms filled with children in crisis and diminishing behavioral health services close to home. As of December 2020, the rate of ED discharges for children with a behavioral health condition increased by 70% compared to December 2019.
The state of North Carolina has fallen short in providing a behavioral health system, as the state was ranked 44th amongst states for access to mental health by Mental Health America in its 2021 State of Mental Health in America Report. The state of North Carolina is awash with over $6 billion in unspent revenue which is on top of the once-in-a-lifetime in unspent pandemic relief funding from federal government.
As the healthcare leader in our community, [Healthcare Organization Name] is joining forces with the North Carolina Healthcare Association (NCHA) in calling on Republican leadership in the Assembly and Senate and Governor Cooper to find a bi-partisan solution on this crisis by allocating budget dollars to address mental health.
[Healthcare Organization Name] is the first place families and patients turn to in times of a mental health episode and it is crucial that as we continue to see an increase in patients dealing with mental health in our facilities, we expand the budget and resources to treat each and every North Carolinian.
The state of North Carolina is in the unique position of having budget dollars to allocate towards mental health resources to slow the mental health crisis, before it become a mental health pandemic.
I’d be happy to connect you with [Healthcare Organization Name] executives and other leaders to discuss the importance of providing mental health funding in the state budget and why the state of North Carolina needs to act now.
Thank you,
First Name Last Name
Talking Points to Adapt Messaging
- North Carolina is in a full-blown state of emergency with climbing suicide rates, emergency rooms filled with children in crisis, and diminishing behavioral health services close to home.
- Skyrocketing demand for mental health services is outpacing the scope and capabilities of the state’s behavioral health system.
- While mental illnesses are highly treatable, North Carolina has fallen short in providing a behavioral health system that is accessible and accountable for its outcomes.
- A 2021 State of Mental Health in America Report by Mental Health America has ranked North Carolina 44th among states for access to mental health care. The same report ranked North Carolina 45th in the country for youth mental health.
- As of December 2020, the rate of ED discharges for children with a behavioral health condition increased by approximately 70% as compared to December 2019. Reports also indicate a 91% increase in involuntary commitments in the last decade.
- Meanwhile, North Carolina is awash in over $6 billion in unspent revenue on top of having access to once-in-a-lifetime unspent pandemic relief funding from the federal government.
- Given the federal resources to address health inequities exacerbated by COVID-19, we have an extraordinary opportunity to build the comprehensive treatment system our citizens deserve.
- But because these issues precede COVID-19 and will extend beyond the pandemic, we must also take the opportunity to reimagine behavioral health in North Carolina through comprehensive, ongoing funding allocated for this much-needed care through true system reform.
