“With the onset of COVID-19, the already strained mental health system was hit by a perfect storm of personal fear and anxiety, societal and political upheaval, forced isolation, loss of life, and an economic downturn, coupled with unprecedented challenges for the behavioral health workforce,” according to the Blue Ridge Health District 2022 Mapp2Health report.
The report is the result of a community health needs assessment conducted in partnership with BRHD, UVA Health, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital and Sentara Martha Jefferson Outpatient Surgery Center.
Much of the text below is directly from this report.
Teens, young adults face highest rates of depression
According to the report, many young adults aged 18-29 dealt with significant disruptions in their lives – which may contribute to poor mental health. Some of these factors included university closures, job or income loss or transitioning to remote work.
Young adults reported the highest rates of anxiety and depression of any age group throughout the course of the pandemic, according to the report.
High school students in Virginia also felt the impact of COVID-19. High school students who felt sad or depressed increased 27 percent.
Fatal drug overdoses ‘highest number ever on record’
Another side effect of COVID-19 – drug overdose rates have grown across the nation.
In Virginia, overdose rates increased 42 percent from 2019 to 2020, with an average of four Virginians dying of an opioid overdose daily. An increased presence of synthetic opioids like fentanyl were also noted as a cause of overdose deaths, according to the report.
Preliminary data from the Virginia Department of Health shows that fatal drug overdoses for all substances in Virginia in 2021 increased by 15 percent from 2020 and were the highest number ever on record.
According to VDH’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, fentanyl was responsible for more than 76 percent of all overdose deaths statewide.
Virginia facing ‘critical shortage’ of psychiatric beds
Despite increasing mental healthcare needs, Virginia is facing a critical shortage of psychiatric beds, aggravated by COVID-19, according to the report.
In 2021, the Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services temporarily closed five out of nine state hospitals to new admissions, leaving community service board staff, police officers, and emergency departments in uncharted territory for how to help people in psychiatric crisis obtain in-patient care.
Need vs reality:
- 40 to 60 beds are recommended per 100,000 population
- 10 child or adolescent beds are also recommended per 100,000 population
- In BRHD, with more than 250,000 people, there are only 25 adult psychiatric beds
- In BRHD, there are no child and adolescent beds
By comparison, neighbors in the Rappahannock Area Health District, with a population of 383,962, have two hospitals with a total of 88 adult psychiatric beds and 12 adolescent beds.
This year’s report engaged more than 130 representatives from the district’s communities, government agencies, health systems, clinical care offices and non-profit organizations.
Participants explored the policies and practices that influence health from two focus areas: built environment and healthcare systems.
They specifically developed targeted recommendations to combat health disparities with improvements in transportation, digital access and literacy, healthcare access and mental healthcare access.
To view the full report, click here.
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Crystal Graham
