Businesses must be part of Ohio’s mental health solution

Mental health conditions are on the rise for adults and children around the world, including right here in Ohio. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a 25% increase in the global prevalence of anxiety and depression, and 33.1% of adults in Ohio reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depression just in February this year.

In the workplace, these mental health issues contribute to reduced productivity and increased absenteeism; depression alone costs U.S. employers about $44 billion a year in lost productivity, according to the American Psychiatric Association Foundation.

Last week, Cardinal Health and the Ohio Business Roundtable convened a group of Ohio CEOS for a discussion with Gov. Mike Dewine about the mental health challenges facing our workforce and our state.

Tim Robinson, CEO of Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Bob Schottenstein, chairman, CEO and president of M/I Homes, co-hosted this important event that also brought together Lori Criss, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OHIOMHAS) and Judith French, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance. John J. Warner, M.D., CEO of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State, and K. Luan Phan, M.D., chief of Psychiatry Services at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center also participated in the discussion.

These leaders spoke in depth both about some of the ongoing efforts to support Ohioans struggling with mental health issues and several shared deeply personal stories about how their own families, friends, and colleagues have been impacted by mental health issues.

Many of the participants focused on the role of employers in ensuring benefits are available to protect their employees’ mental well-being. Engaging with a cross-section of private and public sector leaders for discussions like this around mental health is a critical step as we face the mental health crisis in our country and in Ohio. It will take our collective action to help end the stigma around mental health issues and give all Ohioans the support they need to live happier, healthier and more productive lives.

Gov. Dewine outlined for us how his biennial budget proposals support two critical areas for improving the mental well-being of all Ohioans: removing the stigma of mental health issues and expanding mental health resources. The governor’s budget specifically addresses children’s mental health needs, with investments to expand the number of pediatric behavioral health professionals in the state and children’s health access in Ohio schools.

The roundtable was an important signal of the ongoing commitment of the Ohio business community to advance and leverage private-public partnerships and to work with the governor to find solutions to our state’s mental health crisis. As our conversations revealed, mental health issues in Ohio impact everyone — our employees and our colleagues, our friends and our families, and people throughout our communities. As business leaders, we are in a position to facilitate, convene, and make a difference, and we are proud to do so.

We are grateful that Gov. Dewine has chosen to make mental health a priority for Ohioans, and we wholeheartedly endorse his budget recommendations to build a community care system that will increase prevention efforts, provide better crisis response services and treatment options, grow Ohio’s behavioral health workforce, and focus on much-needed research and innovation to help us understand the underlying causes of mental health issues.

Supporting the mental health provisions in the governor’s budget is simply the right thing to do. It’s right for our employees, for our children, for our communities, and it’s right for Ohio.

Pat Tiberi is a former congressman and currently serves as the president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, a CEO group of Ohio’s top companies collectively working to advance the economic competitiveness of the state.

Jason Hollar is chief executive officer of Cardinal Health with more than 25 years of experience across finance, global manufacturing and distribution. He has been involved with Junior Achievement for years as both a volunteer and a member of the board of directors at the local level.