Youth Mental Health Project Moves to Next Phase, Participating PAs and Pilot Sites Revealed

PAs address mental health in the classroom

August 5, 2024

Earlier this year, AAPA announced that the PA Foundation had received a grant from the RBC Foundation USA to help launch an initiative to address youth mental health in schools.

The project, named PArtnership to Improve Student Mental Health, seeks to address common mental health concerns while empowering teachers, administrators and other school staff to address mental health inside the classroom.

As part of the project, four PAs have been selected for the first phase to help lead a mental health training with a school district in their areas. These PAs – hailing from New York City, Long Island, Schenectady, Ny., and Denver – will be responsible for leading mental health training, which will take place later this fall.

Schenectady, New York:

Hwal Lee, DMSc, PA-C, will partner with the Schenectady City School District to bring the training to school staff. Originally from Australia, Lee has always gravitated towards working with individuals experiencing mental health and substance use challenges, first as a counselor and now as a PA. Lee was also an inaugural member of the PA Foundation’s Mental Health Outreach Fellowship and became a certified Adult Mental Health First Aid instructor in 2018.

“I have seen firsthand the negative impacts of mental health challenges on students’ learning, development, and overall health, not to mention their families and teachers, and these impacts can be severe and long-lasting,” Lee said. “I believe that supporting students’ mental health supports teachers’ mental health, and vice versa. So, through this initiative, I’m hoping to be able to support our local K-12 teachers and staff in New York state’s Capital Region by providing practical resources and professional development opportunities.”

Long Island, New York:

Cindy Qian, PA-C, and Laura Villanueva, PA-C, both PAs with Northwell Health in New York, will be partnering with schools in Queens and Long Island, respectively.

Qian said she is excited to be addressing mental health in schools at a critical time.

“As an immigrant and minority, mental health was not a focus during my upbringing,” Qian said. “Now as a mother of two daughters, this issue is definitely on my mind, as it is for many parents. With this opportunity, I am eager to give back to the community that embraced me upon immigrating here. It’s a privilege to be able to participate in this initiative while maintaining my focus on surgery. I believe this really highlights the versatility of the PA profession.”

Bay Shore, New York:

Villanueva works as an emergency psychiatry PA in Bayshore, New York. She’s passionate about getting more PAs involved in the mental health space and will be working with schools on Long Island to bring much needed mental health training to staff.

“Working in the ER, we see firsthand the impact that having such a shortage of mental health providers in the community has, particularly on our pediatric population,” Villanueva said. “I hope this initiative with our local school districts is able to provide the resources needed to recognize and treat mental health concerns more efficiently in those who are most vulnerable – our youth.”

Denver, Colorado:

Kelli Shanahan, PA-C, practices at a school-based clinic at Montbello High School in Denver. A PA for almost a decade, Shanahan’s passions include improving access to primary healthcare and treating mental health conditions. Having married an assistant principal, Shanahan said she’s seen firsthand how important it is to bring mental healthcare support for teachers and students.

“I am passionate about increasing awareness of mental health concerns in our children and helping them access supportive caregivers and treatment options,” Shanahan said. “I am hoping this project will help to open up opportunities for students to receive the care they need and give educators increased confidence in supporting them.”

PAs will schedule mental health training with local schools on a rolling basis, beginning in the fall and continuing into the spring. More PAs will be selected soon to participate and bring mental health training to schools in their areas.

[Access AAPA’s Behavioral & Mental Health Toolkit for additional resources.]

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