From Awareness to Action: How Columbus Regional Health Unified a County Around Mental Well-being

Led by Columbus Regional Health, a community health needs assessment conducted in 2024 in Bartholomew County, Ind., identified mental health as a top community health priority. Like many communities, the county — with a population of about 82,000 — faced increasing demand for mental health care, along with the challenges of overcoming persistent stigma and addressing limited provider capacity. Some residents delayed seeking help until their needs escalated, contributing to backlogs for provider services and fragmented care navigation.

CRH recognized that expanding health care services alone would not solve issues identified in the CHNA. The community needed a coordinated, prevention-focused strategy to improve awareness, streamline access to care, and strengthen connections across health care organizations, schools, employers and public health agencies.

Building an Ambassador Network, Launching a Digital Platform

CRH launched Mental Health Matters, a countywide initiative designed to address mental well-being through five core elements: 1) system access; 2) provider pipeline; 3) programs and services; 4) basic needs; and 5) community knowledge and perception.

A cornerstone of the strategy was building a trained ambassador network. These ambassadors received education on Mental Health First Aid, an evidence-based, early-intervention training program; adverse childhood experiences, potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood; and local resource navigation. This education and training helped equip ambassadors in normalizing conversations about mental health and guiding community members toward personalized support.

To unify access, CredibleMind was embedded as the initiative’s mental health digital infrastructure. Adopted by CRH in May 2024, the platform provides a centralized, evidence-based home for self-care resources, validated assessments and personalized navigation to local behavioral health services. QR-enabled storytelling cards, bilingual materials and public campaigns — such as Standing Up Against Stigma — connect community members directly to tools and support. Quarterly convenings further align licensed providers and community-facing professionals to strengthen coordination.

Julie Orben, Mental Health Matters project manager at CRH, noted, “We’re creating a common language and shared understanding across the community — so people can find help earlier, before it becomes a crisis.”

Tracking Reach, Impact and Improvement Efforts

Since its launch, Mental Health Matters has delivered measurable results, including expanding reach and creating cultural impact across Bartholomew County:

• Reached more than 342,000 county residents through 1.1 million digital impressions.
• Generated more than 7,000 direct clicks to lived-experience stories and CredibleMind resource pages.
• Achieved a 97.5% empathy lift — i.e., nearly all survey respondents reported increased compassion after viewing stories.
• Extended bilingual outreach to more than 104,000 Spanish-speaking residents.
• Increased community engagement; monthly newsletters consistently exceed a 50% open rate.

Beyond observing earlier help-seeking behavior and stronger coordination across systems, providers report decreased backlogs for services as community residents access assessments and self-guided resources before their mental health needs escalate. Community collaboration now spans schools, law enforcement, faith communities, employers and the judicial system. These partnerships contributed to the development of a court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment program to improve health care access for individuals with serious mental health conditions.

A community dashboard aligned with the five core elements continues to track indicators and guide improvement efforts. The model remains active and is expanding, with neighboring counties in Indiana exploring similar approaches.

• A shared digital platform accelerates alignment across partnering organizations and reduces fragmentation.
• Pairing CredibleMind’s evidence-based tools with trusted community ambassadors drives earlier help-seeking behavior.
• Centralized assessments and resource navigation reduce strain on clinical providers.
• Sustainable progress requires cross-sector collaboration and measurable infrastructure strategies.

Contact

Julie Orben 
Project Manager, Mental Health Matters 
Columbus Regional Health

Learn more about Community Behavioral Health Solutions, AHA's collaboration with CredibleMind to bring evidence-based digital solutions to hospitals, health systems and their communities.