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News
MARQUETTE/KOCHVILLE TWNSHP — Northern Michigan University is partnering with Saginaw Valley State University to offer training for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners for 31 U.P. nurses annually. The BRIDGEUP program is funded through a $2.6 million-grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The program will offer students a cost savings of nearly 85%, according to a news release from NMU. It involves online classwork through SVSU, clinical placements with various patient populations within the U.P., and in-person workshops at NMU to reduce travel requirements. Graduates of the program will be eligible to take a certification exam.
“There’s an extreme shortage of professionals in the Upper Peninsula who can provide mental health care and addiction treatment or manage medication,” said Amy Poirier, PMHNP clinical coordinator at NMU.
The BRIDGE UP project aims to expand access to mental health and addictions treatment, while also addressing the need to reduce health inequities in rural Michigan. SVSU and NMU have established two academic-practice partnerships — with Suunta Integrative Health and Great Lakes Recovery Centers, both in the U.P. to provide students with a longitudinal clinical immersion.
Suunta owner Melissa Copenhaver said mental health disorders are increasing, and about one in five adults currently live with mental illness.
“Based on population numbers, it is estimated that the U.P. needs about 75 full-time equivalent psychiatrists; however, there are under 10 FTEs available,” said Copenhaver, who is a PMHNP, licensed family nurse practitioner, clinical social worker and certified mental health integrative medicine provider. “ … The partnership between NMU and SVSU will recruit nurse practitioners from the U.P. for SVSU’s psychiatric nurse practitioner post-master’s program, which has a focus on rural health.”
As part of the BRIDGE UP project, SVSU has developed an interprofessional rural health equity micro-credential to equip students “to advocate for and deliver high-quality, cost-effective, equitable health care to improve health care outcomes and increase client satisfaction,” according to an SVSU press release. Through a combination of classwork, simulation and clinical immersion, students work as part of an interprofessional team with social work and occupational therapy students within social determinants of health framework.
The BRIDGE UP is an attempt to help improve behavioral health care access in rural Michigan. By equipping nurse practitioners with specialized training and fostering interprofessional collaboration, SVSU and NMU hope to reduce health disparities and enhance the well-being of individuals and communities in the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan.