FORT JOHNSON, La.  –   The Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital Behavioral Health Department, along with 10 other Defense Health Agency military medical treatment facilities, wrapped up a six-month DHA Targeted Care Pilot program on Oct. 31.

Lt. Col. Alexander Ragan, installation director of psychological health at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson, Louisiana, lauded the pilot program’s success and confirmed other installations across the enterprise will stand up Targeted Care in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024.

According to the Defense Health Agency, Targeted Care more efficiently uses existing mental health resources to meet current demands. Active-duty service members and their Families get the right care at the right time by integrating outside agencies, like chaplains, Family Life Counselors and Military One Source, into traditional medical systems of behavioral healthcare. The approach increases access to mental health care, reduces wait times and increases readiness by providing timely, tailored care to meet individual needs.

“This pilot has enhanced our primary care behavioral health consultation program which integrates behavioral health providers into primary care clinics,” he said.

“It frees up resources,” he explained. “More efficient and effective use of
non-medical counseling services allow more time for clinicians to provide therapy to those with diagnosed mental health conditions.”

Ragan said the program brought installation resources together in a collaborative, synergistic way to improve behavioral health support to the Fort Johnson community.

“The Targeted Care pilot built stronger relationships among behavioral health services,” he said. “In fact, we have successfully vectored more than a third of our mental health walk-ins to services outside of behavioral health clinics, with less than one percent being referred back for specialty care.”

Ragan said wait times have decreased from three weeks to less than two weeks.

“We have been able to see patients more often for follow up appointments that have a behavioral health diagnosis or who are at higher risk for suicide,” he said.