The Medical College of Wisconsin is using a $1.2 million grant it received from the United Health Foundation to launch a primary and psychiatric health care program for new mothers and pregnant women.
The program, called The Periscope Project, will give women access to real-time consultations with a psychiatrist, community resources and a variety of digital resources on MCW’s website. Those digital resources include assessment tools, treatment algorithms, treatment information and continuing medical education modules.
“The Periscope Project addresses the lack of perinatal psychiatric care providers by increasing the reach and efficiency of these specialized health providers,” said Dr. Christina Wichman, associate professor of psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynecology at MCW. “Together, we are building the capacity of primary-care providers to effectively manage and coordinate care for their perinatal patients with psychiatric and behavioral health conditions.”
The program will be led by a perinatal psychiatrist, staff from MCW’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and a researcher and health economist from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s College of Nursing.
The program will also partner with the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership and its member organizations as well as the UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
The $1.2 million grant will be paid out to MCW over the next three years. The program will also receive an additional $200,000 from a title V Maternal Health Block Grant from the State of Wisconsin.
