OLYMPIA-Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment or SBIRT is a national best practice for early intervention in substance use and mental health and will be the focus of the first SBIRT conference in Pierce County on Wednesday, June 14 at The Tacoma Best Western Plus .
The conference, hosted by the Department of Social and Health Services’ - DSHS Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery - DBHR, the Korean Women’s Association - KWA, Pierce County Human Services and MultiCare will be a one-day certification training event to provide an overview of both SBIRT and Motivational Interviewing - MI.
The conference will help participants understand how to screen patients for mental health and substance use in a primary care setting. More than 300 people are expected to attend.
Thomas Fuchs, Director of Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery - DBHR explains, “There is an opportunity to detect and help individuals with substance use challenges earlier on.”
The need for this information in Pierce County is great.
“There is a behavioral health crisis in Pierce County. Nearly 14 percent of young adults and 6.6 percent of adults over the age of 26 suffer from an alcohol use disorder. This underscores the necessity that our youth and young adults must be a critical health priority in prevention and intervention activities,” said Peter Ansara, Director of Pierce County Human Service’s Department.
Suzanne Pak, director of Community & Behavioral Health for Korean Women’s Association - KWA) added, “By providing brief interventions to patients in a medical setting and making it easier to access substance use and mental health treatment, we are bringing health and behavioral providers together and delivering culturally responsive services.”
The conference will give participants information about integration and how it is an important part of transforming health care to become a collective and collaborative person-centered approach to care and wellness.
“Now is a great time to explore the innovative ways in which we can improve the quality, health outcomes, and equity of health care. ,” explained Jeff Plancich, director of MultiCare behavioral health services.
More information about SBIRT is located on the DSHS website.
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