Two organizations team up to support a population impacted by long-term trauma and grief
ST. LOUIS, May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Ollie Hinkle Heart Foundation (OHHF), a leading non-profit organization dedicated to supporting individuals with childhood-onset heart conditions and their families, today announced a national partnership with LunaJoy Health, a women's mental health company supporting clinical operations and patient risk identification. This collaboration aims to address the growing need for specialized trauma-informed mental health support for families across the nation, with about 40,000 babies born each year suffering from heart defects.
The Ollie Hinkle Heart Foundation, renowned for its commitment to supporting families through their physical and mental health journey while raising a child with a lifelong heart condition, will leverage LunaJoy Health's depth of expertise and reach to expand access to personalized mental health care for families, ensuring they receive timely and effective consultative services, education, and crisis resources.
"Parents of children with congenital heart defects are going through an emotionally destabilizing time. Many struggle with feelings of fear, guilt, and overwhelming stress, and the agony of knowing these conditions may be permanent and lifelong," said Jenn Hinkle, co-founder. "Our providers are specially trained to offer trauma-informed care, helping these families navigate their emotional journeys with specialized support. LunaJoy allows us to increase capacity and speed up time-to-treatment, and we recognize that technology is a critical part of managing the evolving state of a family's mental health."
The outlined agreement will focus on three key areas of support:
- Enhanced Accessibility: The collaboration will make mental health resources more accessible to families, ensuring that support is available whenever and wherever needed.
- Specialized Trauma-Informed Care Programs: The partnership will combine the Foundation's extensive experience – supporting the 1,700 families annually affected by CHD – with LunaJoy Health's technology platform to provide specialized trauma-informed care services. These programs will include mental health screenings, individualized therapy sessions, and ongoing wellness checks tailored for families dealing with CHD.
- Community Outreach and Education: The partnership will also focus on raising awareness about mental health issues among families. Through localized community outreach, peer-to-peer support groups, and educational campaigns, the initiative aims to reduce stigma and encourage open conversations about mental health within the family dynamic.
The increasing prevalence of childhood-onset heart conditions has underscored the urgent need for comprehensive mental health support for affected heart families. Infants, children, adolescents, and adults with childhood-onset heart conditions and their families experience many hardships that threaten their physical, emotional, neurodevelopmental, and social health. Due to repeated exposure to pain, injury, serious illness, frequent ER visits and hospitalizations, and invasive or frightening procedures and treatment, these individuals have significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and ADHD.
The partnership will leverage LunaJoy Health's technology and services to mitigate risk and collect important data insights to make more informed treatment plans. Built to operationalize the integrated behavioral health model and to improve access, LunaCare will serve as the underlying infrastructure for Ollie Hinkle's mental health program.
"We created LunaCare for resource-strapped organizations that wanted a higher level of attention spent on patients and those struggling with mental health symptoms," said Sipra Laddha, MD, CEO of LunaJoy. "Under duress, our bodies react in different ways, and the feelings of grief, guilt, and anxiety can be very common among this population. Our approach complements Ollie Hinkle's trauma-informed care model, and we're committed to building a bridge to better outcomes for families affected by childhood-onset heart disease."
About the Ollie Hinkle Heart Foundation
The Ollie Hinkle Heart Foundation (OHHF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families of children with childhood-onset heart disease through love, access without barriers, and creating community. The Foundation provides essential resources, emotional support, and advocacy to help families navigate the challenges of pediatric heart disease.
Ollie Hinkle died due to his heart condition at 13 months old. During Ollie's life, the Hinkles observed the reactive nature of his care, leaving families to endure and navigate mounting unmet physical and mental needs alone. This experience led to a mission to address the unmet needs of heart families while transforming the future of pediatric heart care, envisioning a future where every heart child and family will be wrapped in love to eliminate the traumas endured by living with a chronic illness.
About LunaJoy Health
Founded with a mission to eliminate disparities in women's mental health, LunaJoy Health is at the forefront of developing innovative care models that cater to underserved populations. The organization's integrated care model is a testament to its commitment to providing patient-centered care that addresses the complex needs of high-risk women. Through its programs, LunaJoy Health aims to improve health outcomes, ensuring a healthier future for all families.
Media Contact
Shama Rathi, LunaJoy, 1 610-420-1724, [email protected], hellolunajoy.com
SOURCE LunaJoy
Share this article