Los Angeles Maternal Mental Health Access (LAMMHA)

LAMMHA – Improving Perinatal Mental Health Care in Los Angeles County Community Clinics

Welcome to Los Angeles County Maternal Mental Health Access (LAMMHA)

Los Angeles Maternal Mental Health Access (LAMMHA) is a five year program (2022 - 2026) funded by The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) to support health centers in Los Angeles to identify and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) and reduce the risk of suicide. The LAMMHA initiative is a collaboration between Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC), Elevation Health Partners (EHP), Maternal Mental Health Now (MMHN), Concert Health, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Co-created with Los Angeles community stakeholders, the LAMMHA program currently offers Los Angeles County providers and community clinics two different levels of support to improve perinatal mental health care: 1) collaborative care (CoCM) implementation support and 2) ECHO case series.

Discover how you can participate in the learning opportunity to improve mental heath care for your perinatal patient population

• Our flyer
• Flyer supplement
• California FQHC shares their story implementing the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) for their perinatal population as part of the UW MInD-I project led by Dr. Ian Bennett.

How can I use LAMMHA to support my work?

Join a learning community cohort. There are two levels of support:

• APPLY to join: CoCM Implementation Learning Collaborative
  • Los Angeles County clinics providing perinatal care are invited to submit an application. See additional details
  • Award of $75,000 per participating site location
  • Two years of individual support to implement Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) for perinatal depression. First cohort begins February 2023
• Register to join the ECHO Case Series
  • Los Angeles County perinatal providers are invited to register. See additional details
  • Ten-month ECHO series to support perinatal mental health care. First cohort begins February 2023

Visit the LAMMHA Resources page for direct links to key perinatal mental health support resources for providers and parents

Background:

Nationally, approximately 700 women die each year from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. CDC estimates that 60%, three in five, of these deaths are preventable.

• Perinatal Depression is the most common postpartum complication​

• One in three pregnant people experience clinically significant anxiety or depression symptoms during or after pregnancy​ (CDPH, 2022)​

• One in five California women has symptoms of depression during or after pregnancy (CDPH, 2022)​

• Prevalence rates (Los Angeles County DPH, 2018)​

  • Los Angeles (23.1% depression; 26.7% anxiety)​

  • Black communities (33% depression, 30.5% anxiety) ​

  • Latinx communities (21.3% depression, 24.7% anxiety)​

• Rates of Psychological Mental Health (PMH) disorders have increased two to three times since the start of the pandemic

• Suicide is the largest modifiable cause of maternal mortality​

Those who are identified rarely find appropriate care due to:​

• Limited availability of behavioral health providers with specialized training​

• Lack of support for community clinics to implement screening protocols​

• Limited access to appointments and other affordable interventions​

• Limited time available to spend with patients​

• Lack of understanding about mental health (provider and patient)​

• Stigma about mental health (provider and patient)​

• Insufficient support for clinic staff to screen, refer, and provide care for those struggling with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders

• Limited culturally affirmative care options​

The Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)

The Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) is more effective than usual care for patients with depression, anxiety, and other behavioral health conditions.¹ See CoCM Flyer for more information and evidence base.

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¹ Unützer J, Katon W, Callahan CM, et al. Collaborative Care Management of Late-Life Depression in the Primary Care Setting: A Randomized Controlled Trial. JAMA. 2002;288(22):2836–2845. doi:10.1001/jama.288.22.2836