(Radio Iowa) – Mental health experts say Iowa is facing a critical shortage of providers, especially during the stressful holiday season, though some patients are turning to telehealth for care. Tarrah Holliday, a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner, treats up to 30 patients daily at Zion Integrated Medical Services in Atlantic. Holliday says there are only about 300 psychiatry providers statewide. “There are lengthy wait lists,” Holliday says. “Some offices you can get in within three months. Some, it takes up to six months.” As a solution, Holliday says 75-percent of her clients are turning to telehealth, and some even live three hours away.

“Many patients really prefer and feel more comfortable in their own environment,” she says, “and that has been extremely beneficial for them.” The I-S-U Extension reports Iowa is 45th in the nation for mental health care providers per capita. “Oftentimes, especially this time of the year, my colleagues and I are working extra hours and overbooking ourselves to ensure that patients get in and are able to be seen and their needs met,” Holliday says, “because this is a difficult time of year for them.”

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 60-percent of Iowa communities experience a shortage of mental health care. To be considered a Health Professional Shortage Area the population-to-provider ratio must be at least 30,000-to-one.