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2017 Health Care Champions Therapist: Dr. Matt Costley

CoxHealth

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Dr. Matt Costley views himself as an interconnecting piece in the structure of health care in the Ozarks. In that case, he’s the cornerstone for delivering innovative services to the Monett and Cassville areas as a CoxHealth psychologist and behavioral health consultant. He also wears many hats within those titles.

Costley is a consultant for 14 practitioners and rotates between three rural clinics – Family Practice and Obstetrics of Monett, Family and Occupational Medicine of Monett and Cox Medical Center in Cassville. He also is a mental and behavioral health provider for eight physicians and six nurse practitioners.

“In this way, my role is that of a member of a health care treatment team for my patients,” he says. “The role also allows me to make necessary referrals for the physicians’ patients. Because of this, I not only serve as a member of their treatment team, but also sometimes as the mental health liaison for my physicians and the mental/behavioral health community.”

Costley has practiced in southern Missouri his entire education and career – something he’s proud of. A Monett High School graduate, Costley says he’s passionate about serving the people in his hometown. One way he does this is by bringing the primary care behavioral health consultation model to Monett.

“This model is a psychological approach to population-based clinical health care that is simultaneously co-located, collaborative and integrated within the primary care clinic,” he says. “The goal of PCBH is to improve and promote overall health within the general population.”

Approximately half of patients in primary care have psychiatric needs, Costley says, and 60 percent of psychiatric illnesses are treated in primary care. With the PCBH model, both the physical and mental sides of patient care are being addressed.

“Being the person hired to bring this new model of health care to the Monett area is truly my proudest accomplishment,” Costley says. “Not only because I’m helping people in my home community, but also because I’m providing them with a new, helpful model of mental/behavioral health treatment.”

Many of Costley’s rural patients have limited health care options because of their locations – some 45 minutes from Joplin or Springfield, he says.

“I help local patients specifically by providing services in a much-needed area,” Costley says. “Serving in this capacity allows me to better help them by consulting and working shoulder-to-shoulder with their physicians.”

In the past, Costley also has been involved with outreach programs – such as offering free depression screenings and providing services for organizations and institutions, including Monett Elementary. He also has hosted stress-reduction seminars with manufacturer EFCO Corp.

“I believe that it’s very important for clinicians to get involved in outreach activities,” he says. “It is through these activities that we can more effectively inform the people in our tightknit communities of the services that are available to them.”

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