Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation and Midwest Business Group on Health Implement Community Collaborative to Improve Mental Health Outcomes

MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation (TLI) is pleased to announce its partnership with the Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), a non-profit organization representing employer purchasers of health care, to build a Community Collaborative designed to support partners and members in the MBGH community with their efforts to improve mental health outcomes and solutions post-COVID-19. This partnership exemplifies TLI’s commitment to helping organizations seeking a coordinated, cohesive set of actions to effect change and generate positive results for a common good.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, we believe strongly in helping our members develop greater mental health resources and enhance access to and improve care results for their employees, family members and the broader community,” says Cheryl Larson, president and CEO, MBGH. “This amplifies our ongoing efforts to support members that are working to resolve the growing behavioral health issues facing their employees. Our collaboration with TLI will extend the work of our Mental Health Cohort that was started in 2019 to lay the groundwork for this initiative and leverage our collective resources to accelerate these efforts.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted mental health and created barriers for those struggling with mental illness. A recent poll found that many adults report specific negative impacts on their mental health and well-being, such as difficulty sleeping (36%) or eating (32%), increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12%), and worsening chronic conditions (12%), due to worry and stress over the coronavirus.

Reed Hartley, Executive Director, TLI, said, “This multi-pronged approach to community mental health wellness and resilience is designed through multi-sector engagement leading to shared vision and collaborative action. MBGH and TLI will identify stakeholder objectives for a broader launch event and begin efforts to coordinate collaborative, asset-based community efforts as an essential aspect of strengthening community bonds and mobilizing the community to build next-generation social capital.”

Community leaders from all sectors will gather to share stories, ideas and innovation, moving from dialogue to vision to action to create a larger learning community and align collective efforts toward improving mental health.

“As this project progresses, we anticipate that more organizations will align in partnership with this platform to expand the learning community, bringing experience and innovation to strengthen social capital,” Hartley added. “This innovative process provides communities such as MBGH with the tools they need to grow, flourish and to form the bonds of resilience to mental health challenges.”

For more information or to become a partner or donor, contact the foundation.

About the Midwest Business Group on Health

MBGH is one of the nation’s leading non-profit employer coalitions of 135 mid, large and jumbo self-funded public and private employers, representing over 4 million lives and annually spending over $12 billion on health care. Members consist of leading health benefit professionals, with activities focused on education, research, benchmarking and community-based initiatives that increase the value of health benefits and health care services. MBGH is a founding member of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. For additional details visit mbgh.org and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About TLI

The Thought Leadership and Innovation Foundation (TLI) is a not-for-profit organization that works at the nexus of science, technology and public health, innovating for superior prevention, treatment and outcomes for those facing life-altering medical diagnoses. TLI helps patients across the country and around the world find better healthcare outcomes. Visit www.thoughtfoundation.org