Name
NC MATTERS: A Model for Advancing Perinatal Behavioral Healthcare
Description
Perinatal psychiatry access programs increase access to behavioral health care for pregnant and postpartum patients and improve quality of care by building the capacity of health care professionals to address perinatal mental health and substance use disorders. This session will introduce NC Maternal Mental Health MATTERS—a perinatal psychiatry access program in North Carolina that has advanced access to perinatal behavioral healthcare across the state. Drawing on six years of performance metrics, real-world case studies, and patient and provider survey data, we will highlight how NC MATTERS streamlines on-demand psychiatric consultation and coordinated care to enhance workforce capacity, improve patient outcomes, and advance health equity. Attendees will gain practical strategies for how a perinatal psychiatry access program (there are 30 statewide or regional access programs) can create sustainable integrated care solutions that can make a difference in maternal and family mental health.
Speakers
Karen Saxer, NC MATTERS Perinatal Health Champion, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Co-Authors
Karen Burns, Andi Davis, Anne Ruminjo
Content Level
All Audience
Tags
Innovations, Primary Care Behavioral Health Model, Workforce development
Session Type
Concurrent
SIG or Committee
Collaborative Care Model (CoCM), Families and Health (F&H), Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH)
Objective 1
Identify key elements of the NC MATTERS model and its impact on perinatal mental health.
Objective 2
Evaluate performance data and case examples to understand the benefits of integrated, cross-disciplinary care.
Objective 3
Formulate strategies to utilize, replicate, or scale state perinatal psychiatry access programs.
Content Reference 1
Schaefer, A. J., Mackie, T., Veerakumar, E. S., Sheldrick, R. C., Moore Simas, T. A., Valentine, J., Cowley, D., Bhat, A., Davis, W., & Byatt, N. (2024). Increasing Access To Perinatal Mental Health Care: The Perinatal Psychiatry Access Program Model. Health affairs (Project Hope), 43(4), 557–566. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2023.01439
Content Reference 2
Webb, R., Ford, E., Easter, A., Shakespeare, J., Holly, J., Hogg, S., Coates, R., Ayers, S., & MATRIx Study Team (2023). Conceptual frameworks of barriers and facilitators to perinatal mental healthcare: the MATRIx models. BJPsych open, 9(4), e127. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.510
Content Reference 3
Griffen, A., McIntyre, L., Belsito, J. Z., Burkhard, J., Davis, W., Kimmel, M., Stuebe, A., Clark, C., & Meltzer-Brody, S. (2021). Perinatal Mental Health Care In The United States: An Overview Of Policies And Programs. Health affairs (Project Hope), 40(10), 1543–1550. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00796
Content Reference 4
King, C., Hayes, M., Maldonado, L., Monter, E., Aujla, R., Phlegar, E., Smith, C., Parker, L., Blome, K., Sandford, A., Douglas, E., & Guille, C. (2025). A perinatal psychiatry access program to address rural and medically underserved populations using telemedicine. BMC women's health, 25(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-025-03561-
Content Reference 5
Cibralic, S., Fay-Stammbach, T., Tucker, D., Song, D., & Eapen, V. (2023). A mixed-methods evaluation of a state-wide outreach perinatal mental health service. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 23(1), 74. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-022-05229-2