ACCESS Mental Health CT
Wheeler is one of three hubs in the state for the ACCESS Mental Health CT program. For more information about the program, please visit the official web site.
The service consists of expert pediatric psychiatry consultation teams located throughout the state of Connecticut to help primary care providers meet the needs of children and adolescents with mental health problems. Each Hub consultation team includes a child and adolescent psychiatrist(s), behavioral health clinician(s), program coordinator and a family peer specialist.
Services:
- Free Telephone Consultation Within 30 Minutes of Initial Call
- Assistance With Finding Community Behavioral Health Services
- Behavioral Health Training and Education
Consultations result in one of the following outcomes depending on the needs of the child and their family:
- An answer to the PCP’s question
- Referral to the team’s program coordinator or family peer specialist to assist the family in accessing local behavioral health services
- Referral to the team’s behavioral health clinician to provide transitional (interim) face-to-face or telephonic support to the child and family
- Referral to the team’s child psychiatrist for a face-to-face diagnostic evaluation or psychopharmacological consultation
Primary Care Providers
Contact the Wheeler Clinic Hub Team: at 855-631-9835
Wheeler Clinic Hub Team Bios
Richard J. Miller, M.D., F.A.A.C.A.P., Team Medical Director
Dr. Miller is board certified in general, child and adolescent psychiatry. He received his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. After serving as Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai/St. Francis Medical Center Dr. Miller has served as Medical Director for Children’s Services at Wheeler Clinic since 1997. Dr. Miller possesses extensive experience working across the continuum of hospital and community based child psychiatric services including inpatient, partial-hospital, residential, group home, school, intensive and crisis in home programs as well as outpatient services. He has worked within Wheeler’s community-based continuum and coordinating care with other community service providers involved with children and families with complex needs. Dr. Miller also possesses experience providing on-site consultation to primary care physicians.
Gurender S. Sahani, M.D., Team Psychiatrist
Dr. Sahani is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist. He received his degree from JLN Medical College and Hospital and completed graduate medical education at Delaware Psychiatric Center affiliated with Temple University. Dr. Sahani then completed his training in Child and Adolescent psychiatry at Institute of Living, Hartford. He provides psychiatric consultation at Wheeler Clinic and has extensive experience providing community-based care throughout Connecticut. Dr. Sahani is experienced in community psychiatry, psychopharmacology and crisis care.
Jessica Aligata, LCSW, Team Behavioral Health Clinician
Jessica Aligata is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Saint Joseph and her Master’s degree in Social Work from Fordham University. For over 4 years, Jessica has worked with children, adolescents, and families in community behavioral health programs such as those funded through the Department of Children and Families, where her scope of practice has been providing comprehensive bio-psycho-social assessments, establishing client centered treatment plans, implementing effective therapeutic interventions, assessing and connecting clients to appropriate levels of care, providing coordination of services between families, schools, medication providers, and other behavioral health providers as well as establishing linkages for community supports at time of discharge.
Samantha Colon, BA, Team Family Peer Specialist Samantha earned her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Connecticut and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Saint Joseph. At the University of Connecticut she worked as a Resident Assistant for two years, developing her skills in leadership, community development, and crisis response. She also has extensive experience in the customer service sector. As a Peer Support Specialist, Samantha utilizes her personal experiences navigating the behavioral health system in order to support families through difficult and often confusing times. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and is proud to break down language barriers that might stand in the way of families receiving the highest quality of care. She is passionate about connecting parents with the tools and resources that they need to best help their children.
Jodi Cordova, Team Program Coordinator
Jodi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Connecticut. Jodi possesses more than 14 years of experience organizing, staffing and facilitating numerous youth support programs. Jody has extensive experience providing experiential programming for at risk youth. She provided coordination of services with key stakeholders such as the Department of Children and Families, youth service departments, school systems and private organizations. Coordination of these programs involved securing grant funding by providing documentation for state reimbursement including day-to-day administration, customer service and scheduling.
Katie Singh, LCSW, Team Administrator
Katie is a licensed clinical social worker with 10 years of post-graduate clinical and administrative experience. Katie earned her master’s degree from UCONN School of Social Work. She has experience working with children ages 5-18 in Extended Day Treatment and IOP programs. Katie is passionate about working with high risk populations and in supporting her teams in delivering quality clinical services and in their professional growth. In Katie’s current role at Wheeler, she oversees the Adult and Children’s Outpatient Services in Plainville, Extended Day Treatment programs, and AMHCT. She is excited for the opportunity to be part of this great program and dedicated team.