2016 Health Care Champions Administrator: Dayna Harbin

Mental illnesses often are misunderstood and overlooked in health care. Just ask Dayna Harbin.

The administrative director of CoxHealth Psychiatric Services says mental health has a direct impact on physical health, and she’s quick to point out mental illnesses are a disease. She works professionally to give the health care sector the attention it deserves.

“Those suffering from mental illness and their families deserve respect and equal access to treatment and support,” Harbin says. “The stigma of mental illness prevents many people from seeking help and getting early treatment intervention. Instead, they hide and wait until the disease is at a point that they are acutely ill.

“Patients and their families should receive the same understanding and support for mental health as they would a cancer diagnosis.”

Prior to her current role three years ago, Harbin worked for three decades as a nurse manager caring for mentally ill children.

She expanded her scope beyond children as she watched them grow up and knew their care must continue. Others didn’t appreciate her work at first.

“Early in my mental career, I was told by others that I wasn’t a real nurse,” she says. “Frequently patients were seen as bad people who make bad choices. It has been very rewarding to see those perceptions begin to change.”

Now, Harbin’s office oversees 72 inpatient beds and for acutely ill patients an electroconvulsive therapy program. Her psychiatric registered nurses also assist with mental health issues in emergency rooms.

She also works with other southwest Missouri inpatient and outpatient providers, as well as such support groups as the National Alliance on Mental Illness to develop continuity of care for patients. A member of the local Missouri Crisis Intervention Team Council, Harbin partners with other area mental health agencies and law enforcement officers to teach them how to understand and manage individuals with illnesses. She’s involved with legislative advocacy efforts through the Missouri Hospital Association’s Psychiatric Network.

“Any time in any place, my role is to speak up and share the message of providing understanding and care for those suffering from mental illness,” she says.

Harbin, who has her associate degree, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, believes promoting the mental health field to caregivers is the next step in building its mass acceptance.

She works with the Missouri Center for Nursing to get the word out about psychiatric nursing. That led to her inclusion in a video series used on social media and YouTube. To Harbin, it’s all in the best interest of the patient.

“Most of the people I meet with mental illnesses are amazing survivors. They battle a difficult disease often with little support,” she says. “I am proud and thankful to have the opportunity to give them a safe place, a chance at treatment and someone who cares and believes in them.

“I am proud to be their voice and to have had the honor to care for them.”