About Ohio Minds Matter

The updated Ohio Minds Matter website is intended to provide educational resources for healthcare providers, families, and other stakeholders that support a coordinated, family-centric behavioral health system of care. The resources were developed by a clinical expert panel from Ohio’s colleges of medicine, children’s hospitals, and community health providers, working with ODM and OhioMHAS. The newly updated resources include:

Treatment modules and screening tools from common behavioral health conditions

Medication guides for prescribing psychotropic medications

Prevention resources, including suicide prevention guidelines, a module on resilience, and resources for families to know when to seek help

A tool to engage youth and families in treatment decisions and education about supportive parenting practices

Information about how to get help.

Ohio Minds Matter Collaborative was launched in 2012 as a statewide quality improvement (QI) collaborative sponsored by the Ohio Department of Medicaid in partnership with other health and human services agencies, healthcare leaders, colleges of medicine, stakeholders, and medical professionals. The purpose of the collaborative was to evaluate and improve prescribing of atypical antipsychotics and other psychotropic medications to the youngest members of the Medicaid population. With use of a multistrategy approach that incorporated data-driven feedback and evidence-based recommendations, improvements were seen in three targets:

antipsychotics prescribed to children under age six,
prescription of two or more concomitant antipsychotics for longer than two months, and
prescription of four or more psychotropic medications

The Ohio Minds Matter website was used as a resource for clinicians, families, and other child-serving organizations to provide information about evidence-based treatment and tools to encourage youth-centered shared decision-making.

Pediatric Behavioral Health Clinical Advisory Panel: 

Courtney Cinko, MD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Brian Kurtz, MD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Steven Jewell MD, Akron Children’s Hospital
Michael Sorter MD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Sara E. Dugan PHARM.D., BCPP, BCPS Northeast Ohio Medical University
Eileen McGee, MD, Former Associate Medical Director, Signature Health
Kelly Blankenship, DO, Medical Director, Consultation-Liaison Services, Dayton Children’s Hospital
Jonathan Mathis, MD, Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Holzer Health System
Richard Shepler, Director, Center for Innovative Practices at CWRU/OhioRISE Center of Excellence
Bobbi Beale, Center for Innovative Practices at CWRU/OhioRise Center of Excellence
Justin Trevino, MD, Medical Director, OhioMHAS
Mary Applegate, MD, FAAP, FACP, Medical Director, ODM
Jacqueline Morse, MD, MPH Assistant Medical Director, ODM
Kelly Smith, OhioRISE External Affairs Administrator, ODM
Marisa Weisel, MPH Deputy Director of Strategic Initiatives, ODM
Sala Webb, MD, CPH, FAPA DFAACAP, Aetna, OhioRISE Medical Director
Timothy Schaffner, Executive Director of Trumbull County Children Services
Ujjwal Ramtekkar, MD, MPE, MBA, formerly Nationwide Children's Hospital

Facilitated by The Ohio Colleges of Medicine, Government Resource Center

Other contributors:

Erin McKnight, M.D., Nationwide Children's Hospital
Michael Fox, LPCC-S CCDCIII, Center for Innovative Practices, CWRU