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The Bridge Program |
The Bridge Program is a Children's Mental Health Tax funded program which offers school-based short-term psychiatric services. The Program provides psychiatric treatment on-site in Boone County schools. Each child in the program receives an initial evaluation by a child psychiatrist and two to three follow-up visits at no cost to families. Chris Petner and Carole Schutz are the RN program managers and Martha Lerch is assistant to the program managers. Chris & Carole also work as clinicians in the Bridge Program to provide care coordination for children to ensure compliance with treatment recommendations.
The purpose of the program is to provide quick access to psychiatric care, initiation of treatment and referral to community psychiatrist or primary care providers for ongoing care. With this program, students can be identified, evaluated, and treated at their school in a timely manner, thereby avoiding exacerbation of symptoms, potential disruptive behaviors at school, and hospitalizations.
The purpose of the program is to provide quick access to psychiatric care, initiation of treatment and referral to community psychiatrist or primary care providers for ongoing care. With this program, students can be identified, evaluated, and treated at their school in a timely manner, thereby avoiding exacerbation of symptoms, potential disruptive behaviors at school, and hospitalizations.