Marshall Henson has always been focused on meeting a need.
“I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi and my work focused on expanding access to basic healthcare in rural areas with extremely limited resources,” he recalls. He then spent several years operating community services across the DC metro region for individuals with a broad range of behavioral health needs until he joined the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration, where he led efforts to make accessing care easier for Marylanders. It was this work that led him to his role as chief operating officer, community services, at Sheppard Pratt.
“Sheppard Pratt has the unique, defining feature of being able to flex the resources necessary to meet the behavioral health needs of communities across Maryland. I wanted to be a part of that,” says Henson.
Take, for instance, Sheppard Pratt’s latest community services development projects: a newly renovated apartment complex in Towson designed to serve adults with a range of behavioral health needs in the comfort and surroundings of a thriving community; and a new residential crisis program in the heart of Baltimore in collaboration with Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) designed to comprehensively support patients requiring 24/7 behavioral healthcare in the community, enabling them to begin rapid treatment and recovery.
When it comes to access, location matters. These properties were developed intentionally to make them accessible to communities in need and situated in a setting that promotes treatment and recovery. Beyond location and aesthetics, these programs are diverting people from more intensive services. “We’re providing an opportunity for individuals to avoid unnecessary, and often lengthy, emergency department visits while simultaneously connecting them to a continuum of services for the right level of care, at the right time, and in the right location,” shares Henson.
He also cites Sheppard Pratt’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHCs). “We’re introducing the same, basic healthcare visit functions that people are used to getting from their primary care providers. Encouraging the management of heart health and diabetes opens an important dynamic that allows us to better meet the whole health needs of the individuals we serve,” he says. “Through targeted interventions, over 50% of patients with problematic hypertension have improved their blood pressure to a healthy range—reflecting meaningful progress managing chronic conditions.”
Expanding access to a full continuum of behavioral healthcare is vital to healthy communities. Individuals become well, both physically and mentally; families are strengthened; healthcare resources are better managed; and communities are safer.