Usually around September each year, my youngest daughter starts to prepare her Christmas list
for Santa. The list begins as a single item and grows according to the various commercials she
sees, which then results in the latest toy, gadget, or clothing item making the final cut. This ritual
has been consistent for as long as she could write. This Christmas I thought I would also compose a list, but mine would be entitled: “All I want for healthcare!”
I currently have the distinct honor of mentoring 11 first year medical students who have some interest in primary care. Spending time with them reminds me how I felt when I too was at
the beginning of my career: enthusiastic, altruistic, and naive. I believed that I would use my
stethoscope and my newly obtained medical knowledge to save the world one patient at a time. I
also believed that I would possess the tools to be able to do my job and do it well.
However, I was unaware that certain circumstances would limit my ability to practice medicine as I deemed ethically appropriate and according to current standards of care. I was unaware of the inequities that existed within healthcare and I was definitely unaware of the frustrations that my patients would endure just to be well.
For the past several months, I have seen numerous tweens and teens with mental health conditions that warranted psychiatric care. These adolescents have struggled with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, depression and anxiety. Some of these fragile patients were able to be managed by my office, but others needed more specialized care, for which I could not obtain.
In the US, depression is on the rise in teenagers and highest among girls. Although suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents, ages 15-19, finding a pediatric psychiatrist is essentially impossible unless the patient is acutely suicidal. And though behavioral therapy is
more accessible than psychiatry, there are times when counseling alone will not be adequate.
This struggle is even more pronounced if Medicaid is the insurer.
Therefore, why are we shocked at the rising suicide rates or in the mass killings on college campuses? Do we expect these conditions to magically resolve without intervention? As a provider and as a family member to someone who suffers with mental illness, I want and need proper resources.
We wasted so much time this past year in political discourse that was so far from the important issues and left me wondering what kind of country is this place? I heard very little discussion about this crisis during the primaries and during the general election. Furthermore, instead of proposing agenda items for the new administration, pundits are still strategizing comeback tactics for the losing political party. Are you kidding me? Our country is hurting in more ways than one, and our focus continues to be misplaced and misguided.
All I want for Christmas is to be able to see a need and immediately address it. Until my wish is granted, I am left with doing the best that I can do with tools I presently have. So if you are interested in helping me and countless others advocate for mental health access, let’s push our legislators to use their “first 100 days” for something truly worthwhile.
Your family doctor,
Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D.
Assistant Professor
SLUCare Family Medicine
yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com
