Telehealth Funding from Medica Aids with Catholic Social Services Counseling in Rural South Dakota —

Medica Community giving for telehealth counseling offered by Catholic Social Services (CSS) of Rapid City increases access to people across South Dakota. Access to mental health care is vital for all ages, but especially for youth and young adults who represent 14% of all suicides nationally, and it’s critical for teens living on reservations who have a suicide rate of 18%.

Although the Pine Ridge Reservation is more than 80 miles south of Rapid City, telehealth appointments offered there were met with an overwhelming response and provided 11 youth living on the reservation with behavioral health care in 2021 and 18 in 2022

Overall, CSS provided 1,522 sessions in rural South Dakota in 2022.  Services are provided regardless of insurance status to serve youth who live in remote rural locations that do not have mental health providers.   Requests for the service continue to grow. 

A client who received care through this service talks about the impact on their life. “Without CSS’s services, I would have still been struggling in deep depression. I couldn’t ask for anything better than having the services right here. It saved leave time, travel time, and money. I believe it all happened at a time I needed it the most. I sure am appreciative.”

Medica’s support for Catholic Social Services of Rapid City began in 2016 and was strengthened in 2020, with a gift of $50,000 to support telehealth counseling expansion during the pandemic and beyond. In 2022, an additional $10,000 was disbursed to support the growing demand for telehealth services.  “Medica is honored to support Catholic Social Services over the past few years through our community giving,” said JoAnn Birkholz, Foundation Executive Director.  “Their work supports our mission to improve health equity, and they achieve that by working in rural areas and serving several Native American reservations with access to behavioral health services.”

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Maybe you all would find this interesting to include? “CSS’s service area encompasses 22 counties, a rural, agricultural area that covers 43,000 square miles. The total Population is 260,000 people, with one urban area of 141,979 residents.”

 

Five American Indian reservations are located within CSS’s service area, with annual household income of

$33,600 and life expectancy is the lowest and the unemployment rate in 2020 was 85% with a school dropout rate above 70%.

Contact:  Kristin Conzet, Director Communications

Catholic Social Services

605-716-6336

The post Telehealth Funding from Medica Aids with Catholic Social Services Counseling in Rural South Dakota — first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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