Rogers launches telehealth treatment in response to COVID-19

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During this time of increased stress and anxiety, those dealing with mental illness and addiction may find it especially hard to cope with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health issues can also worsen in a crisis. To meet this critical need, Rogers Behavioral Health is continuing to provide highly specialized, evidence-based treatment through a new virtual resource that gives children, teens, and adults the same clinically proven treatment they would receive in person.

About Rogers Connect Care

Rogers Connect Care is a telehealth treatment option for patients who would benefit from partial hospitalization (six hours a day) or intensive outpatient levels of care (three hours a day). “This virtual option was developed as a direct result of the need to protect patients and employees by reducing potential exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows our patients to stay at home and continue therapeutic group-based and individual treatment in a comfortable and convenient way,” shares Paul Mueller, Rogers’ Hospital Division CEO.  

Connect Care is conducted via Microsoft Teams, which provides an easy-to-use, secure environment. Rogers also offers dedicated technical support if patients or families experience any technical difficulties.

Benefits of telehealth

Although in person treatment is preferred under normal circumstances, since launching March 23, we are finding the virtual format offers some unique treatment benefits. “Our patients have access to people or tasks that we may want to work on as part of treatment,” says Dr. Rachel Leonard, clinical psychologist and clinical director of programming at Rogers Behavioral Health in St. Paul.

“For people struggling with depression, we may want to increase their frequency of attending to hygiene activities like showering or brushing their teeth, working on keeping their room tidy, and spending time with family members. If patients are struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) like ordering and arranging objects in their living space, telehealth creates an opportunity to see progress in their living space on certain types of exposures,” Dr. Leonard explains.

Positive responses to Connect Care

Signa Meyers, executive director of operations at Rogers’ Appleton and Kenosha clinics, says patients are responding positively. “In this time of social distancing, patients are telling us they’re grateful to have access to treatment online and to work on things like behavioral activation in their homes which will help them maintain strides after treatment.”

A therapist at Rogers’ Hinsdale location says patients are saying it’s going better than they thought it would. They’re doing well because they are able to show themselves that they can do the things they are afraid of doing at home while they are actually at home and they’re able to interact virtually with other patients and their treatment team.

“We’ve also seen that patients who struggle to speak up in a normal group environment are finding it easier to do so in a virtual environment. And, there’s increase in program attendance as patients face fewer barriers to get to treatment,” Mueller adds. “They say necessity is the mother of invention, and Rogers is pleased to offer a new way to deliver the evidence-based treatment our patients benefit from.”   

Help at Rogers

If you or someone you like is struggling with OCD and anxiety, depression and other mood disorders, addiction, eating disorders, trauma or PTSD, call 800-767-4411 or request a free screening.