Mental Health Topic of Free Summit in Palm Desert

The Coachella Valley Health Collaborative will hold its third mental health summit at Cal State San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus on May 3, a campus spokesman said Thursday.

"Mental Health III will showcase the accomplishments from the previous summits," said Gary Jeandron, project director for the Coachella Valley Health Collaborative. "Participants will explain how they are implementing their own initiatives to improve access to mental health in the Coachella Valley and reduce stigma."

The free summit, which is open to the public, will be held in the Indian Wells Theater on campus. Local leaders in the health care and mental health fields are encouraged to attend, spokesman Mike Singer said.

The collaborative held two previous mental health summits in 2012 to discuss reducing mental health stigma. Cal State San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus, on behalf of the collaborative, received funding from Riverside County to focus on early intervention in mental health issues, Singer said.

In an invitation-only afternoon session at the May 3 summit, mental health care leaders who participated in the previous summit on Oct. 26 will discuss successes and lessons learned while implementing a plan formed at one of last year's summits, Singer said.

The featured speaker will be Ron Manderscheid, executive director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors, who will discuss "Preparations on the Eve of Affordable Care Act Implementation."

The public can attend the morning session of the summit by making reservations with Regina Garrison at (760) 341-2883, ext. 78144, or sending an email to rgarriso@csusb.edu.

For more information about the Coachella Valley Health Collaborative, contact Jeandron at gjeandro@csusb.edu or calling (760) 341-2883, ext. 78163. The group's website is http://cvhc.csusb.edu.