John Ronnau, senior associate dean for Community Health Partnerships with the UTRGV School of Medicine and director of the Area Health Education Centers programs, stands outside the UT Health RGV John Austin Peña Memorial Center last Wednesday. Ronnau is the principal investigator for a federal grant the university received to increase the number of behavioral health consultants. Fatima Gamez Lopez/The Rider
The UTRGV School of Medicine has received a $480,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration to increase the number of health-care professionals who understand and can practice integrated primary care behavioral health.
John Ronnau, senior associate dean for Community Health Partnerships with the UTRGV School of Medicine and director of the Area Health Education Centers programs, is the principal investigator for the grant.
“One of the strengths of the grant is that it is a partnership at several levels,” Ronnau said. “So, certainly the federal government is providing the funding. UTRGV is very committed, the School of Medicine is committed, several colleges and departments within UTRGV are collaborating to make this happen.”
He said the grant will provide stipends to graduate students who are recruited from four different disciplines. The students will be educated and trained to provide integrated behavioral health to work in one of the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Primary Care Clinics.
Asked what four different disciplines will be involved, Ronnau replied, “One of them is clinical mental health counseling, which is in the College of Education [and P-16 Integration]; the second one is rehabilitation counseling, which is in the College of Health Professions; the third is clinical psychology, which is the College of Liberal Arts and social work, which is in the College of Health Professions. And, also, psychiatric residents will be involved.”
He said students from those four disciplines will be recruited by their faculty in their respective department.
Ronnau said students who are not recruited but are interested can apply through their department. Registration will open later this semester for students to be enrolled by January 2022.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for a variety of levels. One, of course, is an exciting opportunity to provide an additional type of service to people in the Valley, people who need it,” he said. “It’s also an opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams with students from other health professions and, of course, as well as medical providers. And that’s the direction that health care is going in our society, making it interdisciplinary. And it’s also an opportunity to practice and learn about a new model of health-care delivery, which is integrated primary behavioral health, which may very well turn into a very exciting job opportunity, because there’s going to be more and more jobs that need this kind of skill set and knowledge.”
