CGI Alumnus is Advancing Rural Cardiac Health Through Integration and Innovation
In the heart of Australia’s River Murray region, a groundbreaking new program is reimagining how cardiac care is delivered, by integrating mental health into every step of the recovery journey. The Enhanced Integrated Primary Care Initiative, funded by the Australian Commonwealth Government, brings together a multidisciplinary team of professionals to improve cardiac health outcomes for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians living in rural communities.
“The Enhanced Integrated Primary Care initiative is a multidisciplinary cardiac health initiative funded by the Australian Commonwealth Government,” shared Dr. Jason Sargent, Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) alumnus at Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies (CGI), founder of Healthy Mind International and the lead provider for the project’s mental health component. “Funding was allocated to the regional PHN Primary Health Network with their role to identify an overall provider for Cardiac Health and to engage allied elements in delivering the initiative over the next two years.”
The program’s strength lies in its team-based approach. “Focus One Health is managing the initiative and provides the Cardiac Nurse,” Dr. Sargent explained. “The wider team comprises: General Practitioner MD, Cardiologist, Mental Health clinician (my company Healthy Mind Int), Physiotherapist, Podiatrist, Dietitian, and Ophthalmologist.” This unified structure ensures that patients receive whole-person care, from medical treatment and lifestyle support to behavioral health and family counseling.
Under the initiative, “the GP sees the patient, then refers them to the Cardiac Nurse, who will then refer the patient to the multidisciplinary team above as a whole-of-person approach to improving cardiac health through a whole-of-lifestyle change,” he said. “If patients need to have cardiac surgery, we, as the Mental Health provider, must also work with them to ensure that we can provide a report to the Cardiologist that the patient is psychologically stable for the procedure. We also work with the patient’s family, pre and post.”
For Dr. Sargent, his education at CGI played an important role in preparing him for this opportunity.
“Undertaking and now having finished the DBH has been instrumental in my getting the Mental Health provider contract, as the DBH provided me with an understanding and working knowledge of the body, body systems, medications, and so on,” he said. “Meaning I can competently engage with the other clinicians with knowledge and skills in their domains as well as behavioral health.”
Beyond professional expertise, the DBH program also instilled the confidence to lead boldly. “The DBH has been instrumental in shaping my ability to put forward to the project how mental health is instrumental in every aspect of patient care,” Dr. Sargent shared.
“The DBH has also given me the intestinal fortitude to not fear being knowledgeable enough to take on this contract, but to believe in my knowledge and skills learned in the DBH.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Sargent hopes that this initiative will become “a nucleus for future integrated health care approaches that include mental health.” His work demonstrates how behavioral health leaders are transforming systems of care, bridging mind and body, and ultimately improving lives through collaboration and compassion.
Learn more about how the Doctor of Behavioral Health program equips global leaders like Dr. Jason Sargent to drive health system innovation at cgi.edu/dbh/.
