How Fox Run Center Partnered with Iris Telehealth to Bring Consistent Psychiatric Care to Rural Ohio

Fox Run Center for Children and Adolescents partnered with Iris Telehealth to address the challenge of finding child and adolescent psychiatrists in rural eastern Ohio. By integrating remote psychiatrists into its treatment team, Fox Run established more consistent psychiatric coverage for its residential patients while strengthening continuity of care for children and adolescents with complex behavioral health needs.

Background

Fox Run Center for Children and Adolescents is a residential treatment facility in St. Clairsville, Ohio, serving boys ages 5 to 12 and girls ages 5 to 17 who have experienced extensive trauma. Its clinical programs include group and individual therapy, recreation therapy and monthly medication management. Located in a rural community of fewer than 5,000 people, Fox Run operates in an area where access to psychiatric providers is particularly limited.

Challenge

When Fox Run’s staff medical director transitioned to an outpatient setting, the facility needed to find a child and adolescent psychiatrist to support its specialized patient population. Recruiting locally proved difficult in a state experiencing a significant psychiatrist shortage, particularly in rural communities. Fox Run used locum tenens providers to fill the gap but wanted a more permanent relationship that could provide the consistency and stability its residential patients needed.

Solution

Fox Run partnered with Iris Telehealth in 2016, initially adding one remote child and adolescent psychiatrist to its treatment team. The partnership later expanded to include a second psychiatrist. The telepsychiatry model provided greater consistency than locum coverage while fitting well with a patient population already comfortable using technology. Iris psychiatrists became an integrated part of the treatment team, providing regular access to psychiatric expertise without the geographic limitations associated with recruiting providers to rural Ohio.

Results

The partnership has provided the consistency and continuity Fox Run sought for its residential patients while also strengthening the facility’s resiliency. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional models of care, Fox Run’s established telehealth program allowed psychiatric services to continue without a significant change in process. Telepsychiatry also supports six-month follow-up touchpoints with patients after they return home, helping address continuity-of-care challenges in communities where obtaining a psychiatrist appointment can take up to five months.

To learn more about Fox Run, you can visit their website here. If you’d like learn more about collaborating with Iris to improve access to mental healthcare in your community, contact us today!