WhidbeyHealth is making significant strides in addressing the island’s need for mental health services.

Garth Miller, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said WhidbeyHealth was awarded a $2.7 million federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration in 2023, money that allowed the hospital to offer behavioral health care starting in the spring of that same year.

“It’s well known to pretty much everybody on the island that there’s been a vacuum in availability of behavioral health services on Whidbey Island,” Miller said during a meeting with the Island County Board of Health on Dec. 17.

Rachel Tampa, manager of behavioral health services, told the board the behavioral health staff is growing and includes nurse practitioners, therapists, social workers and administrative support staff.

When she first started in her new role in September, the team only included about four providers. It has since expanded to better serve the entire island in the three primary care and walk-in clinics.

The Oak Harbor clinic, which represents the largest hub, is served by three nurse practitioners, an in-person therapist, a social worker and therapist, a telehealth therapist and a registered nurse case manager, according to information provided in a slideshow.

In Coupeville, a nurse practitioner has been taking care of adults and children since November, addressing a significant need for pediatric behavioral care. The Freeland clinic is made up of a nurse practitioner and a therapist, according to the presentation.

According to Tampa, the program is collaborating with a telehealth company to have more providers who can serve patients who would otherwise be unable to seek help due to geographical barriers.

The service includes psychiatric evaluation and follow-up psychiatric care for medication management, telehealth for follow-up psychiatric care, individual psychotherapy (in-person and virtually) and Medication Assisted Treatment — or “MAT” — for substance use disorders.

Medication Assisted Treatment, which is supported by a $998,000 grant from the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, is tailored to each patient’s needs, based on the severity of their addiction, co-occurring disorders and personal history. The care follows a bio-psycho-social model, which seeks to address mind, body and spirit with medication, counseling and behavioral therapies.

“We’re taking care of humans, we’re not taking care of problems,” Tampa said.

This is done through a collaboration between primary care providers, behavioral health care managers and psychiatric consultants. Patients who may benefit from short-term care may return to their primary care provider, allowing the limited staff to serve more people on the island, she said.

“It essentially keeps a flow going,” she said.

The goal, Tampa said, is to reduce cravings, withdrawals, overdoses and deaths. This model has a variety of benefits.

Patients in fact are more likely to stay in treatment, which is more effective than an abstinence-only approach. The method can improve physical and mental health, as well as social functioning, resulting in a better quality of life and less criminal behavior. Studies have also found that patients have lower rates of opioid use, overdose and overdose-related deaths, according to the presentation.

Providers use lab tests and questionnaires to track the progress of patients. Because patients may forget to regularly take their medication or may not have easy access to medication, providers have been giving them intramuscular injections that last up to about 28 days.

So far, Tampa said, the program has seen positive results and will continue to improve in the coming year with a collaboration with Island County Human Services.

The behavioral health program accepts Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare insurance, or any patient and insurance provider willing to work together, Miller said, though the program does not take veterans covered by Veterans Affairs because, he said, they would simply seek help from that federal program.

Commissioner Janet St. Clair said she was glad the program can serve older residents who have dual insurance. Miller added that substance abuse is a serious problem among seniors, who are a focus in the hospital’s MAT.