Officials from CarePoint Health and the City of Jersey City participated in a mental health roundtable at the Jackson Square Public Safety Complex yesterday.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“First responders are facing unprecedented mental health challenges, and programs like Mind Line are essential for providing them with the hands-on support they need,” said CarePoint President and CEO Dr. Achintya Moulick said in a statement.
“We’re thankful to Mayor Fulop, Health Director Stacey Flanagan and their team for giving us the opportunity to learn directly from the men and women on the front lines about the challenges they are facing and how we as healthcare providers can give them the tools they need to overcome barriers to care and get the help they need.”
CarePoint’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Rimmer and Director of Community Mental Health Center Miriam Lavine, who are leading the MindLine initiative, spoke at the event about its goals and feature set.
Last month, unveiled Mind Line as a new mental health program for first responders, also noting that Jersey City would be their first partner.
Attendees at the Roundtable event included leadership from the Jersey City Police Department, Jersey City Fire Department, Jersey City Health Department and other city officials.
First responders were given the opportunity to learn more about Mind Line and how it can help them receive therapy in an anonymous setting in order to overcome long standing stigmas about mental health.
“This mental health support program allows us to offer additional resources to our 1,600 firefighters and police officers who have difficult jobs day in and day out, and it directly aligns with the recent efforts by our Department of Health and Human Services Department to expand mental health services,” noted Fulop.
“We will be providing our emergency responders with an unbiased resource that is 100% confidential in hopes of encouraging more and more frontline employees to get the help they need.”
MindLine is specifically tailored to the needs of first responders, providing them with the support they need to cope with the challenges they face.
It will be a vehicle to combat the front line worker mental health crisis and burnout and is meant to be a dedicated portal for those in the industry’s well-being; providing anonymous advice, care navigation, general counseling, or simply an ear that understands the challenges they face in today’s world.
Opportunities for telepsychiatry, psychotherapy, primary care, and more will also be available with no charge for initial visits and the convenience of anonymous care.
“Programs like CarePoint’s Mind Line are tremendously important and we were excited to host Dr. Moulick and his team today to learn more about how they can provide assistance to our first responders to confront their mental health challenges,” added Jersey City Health and Human Services Director Stacey Flanagan.
“Historically there has been a significant degree of stigma around mental health among police officers and firefighters, but this innovative new approach from CarePoint will allow first responders to receive counseling and care anonymously and without fear of impacting their employment. We are excited to continue building our partnership with CarePoint and doing our part to address this urgent mental health crisis.”
