State-university collaboration to enhance public psychiatric services in western Pennsylvania

A collaboration established in 1974 between the Pennsylvania State Office of Mental Health and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center provides a comprehensive program of continuing mental health education, skills development, and program consultation to state hospitals and publicly funded community programs in rural and semirural western Pennsylvania. The authors describe the development of the program and discuss its current organization and activities. In 1990-91 a total of 60 faculty and 150 staff members from the institute contributed more than 1,200 hours of direct programming. The collaboration's activities have broadened in both hospital and community sectors and currently involve all of the university's health and medical care schools.