The Providence Center Announces Hiring of Dr. Nelly Burdette as Director of Integrated Care

New position will coordinate primary and behavioral healthcare for clients of The Providence Center, Providence Community Health Centers, and Blackstone Valley Community Health Care 

November 16, 2010 (PROVIDENCE, RI) – In an important step towards integrating primary and behavioral healthcare in Rhode Island, The Providence Center announces the hiring of Nelly Burdette, Psy.D., as the Director of Integrated Care. As the Director, Dr. Burdette will be working with Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC) and Blackstone Valley Health Care (BVHC) to ensure that there is no wrong door to primary and behavioral health care. The position is funded through a Rhode Island Foundation grant that supports integrated care.

“While integrated care is at the forefront of health care research and integration models have been implemented nationwide, with the exception of The Providence Center approach, integrated care is not available in Rhode Island and the comprehensive system developed through The Providence Center, PCHC and BVCHC’s partnership is unique nationally,” says Dr. Burdette. “The partnership brings together the most successful elements of national models to create a cohesive, inclusive system designed to provide access, long-term integration of behavioral health and primary healthcare and preventative services. As the Director of Integrated Care at The Providence Center, I have the exciting responsibility of implementing the first integrated care system of its kind.”

Dr. Burdette will be charged with the responsibility of expanding the role of behavioral health services onsite at the community health centers, working collaboratively with a PCHC doctor to provide integrated care at a primary health care clinic that will open on site at The Providence Center by the end of 2010, and implementing a federal grant that will imbed health center nurses in behavioral health treatment teams, linking services at both agencies. The Providence Center’s integrated services provide a model of care that meets the person where they are within their physical health or behavioral health treatment and through trained staff and collaboration provides Rhode Islanders with access to either primary or behavioral health services that otherwise would be challenging to access.

From there, shared clients receive continued support in multiple settings to improve their health and their quality of life. As a result of Dr. Burdette’s work, Rhode Islanders who would otherwise not have access to primary health care will be connected to services and people who do not have access to behavioral health care will have access to mental health and substance abuse treatment.

 “Bringing a person with Dr. Burdette’s expertise on board moves The Providence Center, PCHC and BVCHC’s collaboration from the recognition of common need among the people served by all three organizations and a dedicated partnership committed to change to a comprehensive system of care that changes the way people participate in and understand their own healthcare,” says Dale K. Klatzker, Ph.D., The Providence Center President/CEO. “The integration of primary and behavioral healthcare in such a comprehensive way will change the lives of the hundreds of people we serve each day and create real change in the way the state sees healthcare.”

Dr. Burdette’s specialized background in health psychology and experience training both primary care physicians and mental health clinicians in integrated care and her experience working in model integration sites nationally makes her an ideal choice for the implementation and leadership of this initiative. Dr. Burdette’s experience includes, work at Cherokee Health Systems, a federally-qualified health center that was one of the first fully integrated health centers in the country, a two year postdoctoral fellowship in primary care psychology with the University of Massachusetts Medical School and working with the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center to create an integrated care clinic within a primary care setting. While working for the VA, Dr. Burdette created a primary care psychology rotation for health psychology interns through the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and provided the training and supervision for the first intern in the rotation.  

Research makes a case for the importance of integrated primary-behavioral health care as both an economic and quality of care issue. People with behavioral health problems have a life expectancy that is 25 years shorter than the general population due to preventable and modifiable chronic illness. On average, 20% of people with behavioral health problem have no health care and 45% can not name a doctor. At the same time, the need for integration of behavioral healthcare in primary care has been powerfully demonstrated. Mental health disorders are the third most commonly reported chronic disease after pulmonary conditions and hypertension at 30.3 million people diagnosed yearly. Multiple studies have shown a high (10%) prevalence of chronic depression in people seeking primary care. Depression is associated with multiple medical symptoms, impairment in functioning and quality of life and high medical costs. Approximately 22% of primary care patients have untreated anxiety disorders. People with anxiety disorders use more expensive medical resources such as emergency rooms and hospitals than the general population.

The Providence Center is at the forefront of innovative approaches to behavioral health care designed to meet the changing needs of the more than 10,000 people served each year. Since The Providence Center opened its doors in 1969, it has been a community fixture, providing people from all walks of life with mental health and substance use services in their homes, schools and neighborhoods. In addition to comprehensive high-quality behavioral health services, The Providence Center gives people the tools they need to succeed. Through 39 programs and wrap around services including food and housing, job training, legal services, primary health care and wellness activities The Providence Center helps the people we serve succeed. For more information call 401-276-4020.