This summer marks MC3’s 10th birthday!
In 2010, the crisis in child and maternal mental health was brewing, but had not yet been named. Around that time, I attended a national meeting and learned of the first child psychiatry access programs from Dr. John Straus, one of the grandfathers of child psychiatry access programs (CPAPs).
Inspired to start a CPAP in Michigan, I returned home and met with Mary Ludtke, a great advocate for children's and women’s mental health in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). We discussed the idea and Mary started connecting me with key people. We began to sketch out what the program would look like in our state and a couple of years later we officially launched MC3.
The program began with both modest means and scope in Kalamazoo and a handful of northern, rural Michigan counties and was originally funded through philanthropy. Initially, consultation calls were slow to come in as we built awareness of the program.
After a few years, MC3 began to be recognized for doing good work, and we earned the support from legislators who helped us secure generous funding through the Governor’s bipartisan Mental Health and Wellness Commission. Both federal match and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding enabled further expansion to the UP and the Thumb regions. After that, we continued to gain additional funding that allowed us to continue growing the program. Today, we have a presence in all of Michigan’s 83 counties.
In 2013, perinatal psychiatrist Dr. Maria Muzik joined our team and we expanded the program’s scope to include psychiatry consultation and education to support providers treating pregnant and postpartum patients. Dr. Muzik secured additional funding in 2020 that has allowed for enhanced perinatal provider support and direct care for patients via the MC3 Perinatal expansion initiatives.
Though we operate out of the University of Michigan, we proudly collaborate with colleagues at Michigan State University. This collaboration is invaluable and has helped extend the program’s reach.
Ten years into its existence, MC3 has expanded beyond anything I could have imagined in 2012–and it’s all due to your input, support, and help in shaping it according to your needs.
Thank you does not even begin to capture my debt of gratitude to our incredible team of child and perinatal psychiatrists, behavioral health consultants, and staff, of which there are too many to name here. I also thank MDHHS for funding the program and enabling us to do this important work together with you.
In the end, it is all about the relationships. Fridays are my days responding to consultation requests and they are joyous, as I am able to speak to so many of you, doing the brave work all over the state. Thank you all for doing this difficult and time consuming work as you take care of women and children with mild to moderate and incredibly severe mental health and psychosocial difficulties.
This is work that you never signed up for, but is now essential for our youth and women. I listen as you tell your patients’ stories, and your story, and I provide what support I can, holding you so that you can hold others. Surely it takes a village, and together we provide that. It is my hope that we can continue to work together for many years to come in support of children and women in our state.
It’s all about relationships! Thank you for the first 10 great years!
