ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA- State Representative Michelle Salzman from House District One and Quint Studer with Studer Community Institute will be hosting a two hour Mental Health Task Force on August 30th at The University of West Florida. This strategic meeting will focus on building the mental health “care” blueprint for Pensacola and the surrounding areas.
Mental Health is in crisis across America. Representative Salzman sits on the Healthcare Appropriations Committee in the Florida House and has a vested interest in community based healthcare solutions. Both Mr. Studer and the Representative see the need for collaborative conversations and the opportunity to create a blueprint of care. The initial meetings were done as one on one and took place over the last six months with all of the major hospitals, stakeholders and community leaders. With a group of over 40 stakeholders preparing, we have launched a pre-task force survey that will help us create an outline prior to the meeting on August 30th.
The meeting will be two hours long and has leadership from every major hospital, the Florida House, The Department of Health, Rafferty Law, Florida Blue, the VA, the School District, the Sheriff’s Office, the Navy Base, the City’s Homeless Task Force, the mayors of both Pensacola and Century, as well as the Chambers of Commerce, and local pastors, among others.
We will create a blueprint that shows the care “cycle” of Mental Health, and who in the community falls into each area. Once the blueprint is created, we can then identify the gaps in care and create a 90 day action plan. The Task Force will meet again in 90 days to evaluate our progress and create a new action plan to meet again the following quarter.
Representative Salzman and Quint Studer are passionate about mental health and are committed to helping the community move the needle. Through initial conversations with the stakeholders, we are confident that the leadership of our community are also very eager to move the needle. The event is not open to the public, but concerned citizens or anyone interested in providing input can reach out to the Representative directly via email at: michelle.salzman@myfloridahouse.gov