Expanding Mental Health Services to Martin County

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center has been chosen to partner with Indiana University and the school of Public Health to develop a program that will expand psychiatric and mental health services to residents in Martin County, thanks to a four-year, $789,000 subgrant. The Faith Net program will work with both Memorial Hospital’s Martin County clinics and Faith Community Nurses to offer urgent and emergent psychiatric care through in-person and telehealth visits with an advanced nurse practitioner or social worker.

This program kicks off this month and supports local, rural-based primary care clinics by providing emergency consultation and the promotion of timely mental health services to workplaces, churches, schools, and community spaces. The use of telemedicine to provide these services will allow patients quicker access to care.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Kendra Friedman is available to provide psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and short-term psychotherapy to patients through this partnership. Social Worker Shelby Gordon has also joined the team to provide social work support for this program.

Kendra Friedman, PMHNP-BC graduated from Dubois High School and received her nursing degree from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She received her psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner degree from Indiana University in Indianapolis. Kendra is board certified and worked as a registered nurse in Memorial Hospital’s Behavioral Health, Caring Hands Senior Services, and Post-Surgical Services from 2015-2020.

Shelby Gordon, BSW is a graduate of Pike Central High School and received her bachelor’s of social work degree at University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. She completed two internships at Deaconess hospitals in Evansville and worked as a case family manager for the Department of Child Services in Petersburg, Indiana.

If you would like more information on this program or would like to inquire about services, please call Kendra Friedman at (812) 631-8421 or Shelby Gordon at (812) 631-2079.