Pediatric and pregnancy related mental illness is at an all-time high. 85% of primary-care practices indicate difficulty accessing evidence-based mental health care. In this presentation, you will learn about the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium pilot program, the Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network. You will learn more about how this initiative is supporting women's health providers (doctors, nurses, mid-wives, etc.) by enabling access to perinatal and postpartum mental health services by linking providers with psychiatric expert advice, referrals and resource assistance. You will also hear the most recent data on perinatal and postpartum behavioral health, maternal morbidity and mortality and why women need behavioral health support during this critical time in their families' lives.

Presented by:

Luanne Southern, MSW, Luanne Southern currently works at the University of Texas System as the Executive Director for the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, which was created by the 86th Texas legislature in Senate Bill 11 to address gaps in mental health care for children and adolescents in Texas. Luanne most recently provided strategic consulting services to the Texas child welfare system as a Senior Director for Casey Family Programs, a national operating foundation focused on improving – and ultimately preventing the need for – foster care. She previously served as Deputy Commissioner for the Texas Department of State Health Services. Luanne has many years of national, state and local experience in health and human services, with an emphasis on policies and practices that address the behavioral health needs of children, youth and families. Ms. Southern has an MSW from The University of Texas, and BSW from Goshen College in Indiana.

Lisa Boyers, MD, is a perinatal and reproductive psychiatrist in the UT Health Austin Women’s Reproductive Mental Health Clinic of Texas and Comprehensive Fetal Care Center, a clinical partnership between UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s. She specializes in the diagnosis and management of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and substance use disorders. Dr. Boyars received her medical degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. She completed her residency in Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC where she also completed her fellowship in Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry. She is an enthusiastic educator, researcher, and presenter on perinatal and reproductive behavioral health regionally, nationally, and internationally. She has been an investigator in several grant-sponsored research studies and initiatives to provide novel and better care to women with maternal mental health conditions. Dr. Boyars is a perinatal and reproductive psychiatrist with UT Health Austin.

Judith Osborne is a maternal health advocate and patient family partner based in Texas. She is a survivor of pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes within her first pregnancy. During her second pregnancy she survived pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, postpartum depression, and being a NICU mom. Now, she shares her story to raise postpartum depression, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, NICU mom, and maternal health crisis awareness. She would also like to raise awareness that it is not guaranteed that pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes will go away after giving birth. Judith serves as a volunteer with the Preeclampsia Foundation.