Health Calls Season 6, Episode 2 continues the United for Change theme with a focus on youth mental health in Chicago. Host Brian Reardon and executive producer Josh Matejka speak with Dr. Anoop Takher, Interim Chair of Behavioral Health at Saint Anthony Hospital, about the hospital's SPARK Program.
Health Calls Season 6, Episode 2 continues the United for Change theme with a focus on youth mental health in Chicago. Host Brian Reardon and executive producer Josh Matejka speak with Dr. Anoop Takher, Interim Chair of Behavioral Health at Saint Anthony Hospital, about the hospital's SPARK Program. Designed to eliminate long wait times for psychiatric evaluations, SPARK offers integrated care—including speech and occupational therapy—under one roof. Dr. Takher shares how collaboration with partners like the Carol Robertson Center and local schools has expanded access and improved outcomes for children and families. SPARK’s model offers a blueprint for other systems seeking to meet behavioral health needs with compassion, efficiency, and equity.
Resources
Learn more about Saint Anthony Hospital's SPARK program
Watch CHA's This is Catholic Health Care video on the SPARK program
Brian Reardon (00:04):
Greetings and welcome to Health Calls, the podcast of the Catholic Health Association of the United States. I'm your host, Brian Reardon, and with me is Josh Matejka. Hey, Josh.
Josh Matejka (00:13):
Hey, Brian. How's it going?
Brian Reardon (00:14):
Good. So for this season of United For Change, we're talking to different folks on some of the collaborative efforts they're doing to address the health needs of the patients and communities that Catholic Healthcare serves. We'll start with talking to you a little bit, and then we're going to bring in just a moment, Dr. Anoop Tucker, he's Interim Chair, department of Behavioral Health with Saint Anthony Hospital in Chicago. And again, we'll bring him in just a moment. But Josh, I want to start with you and really get a little background on how this episode came together.
Josh Matejka (00:48):
So I had the opportunity to visit Dr. Takher and our friends at Saint Anthony in Chicago earlier this year, and we went to record, this is Catholic Healthcare episode about the SPARK Program, which we'll touch a little bit on in this episode. And if you were to watch that video, it'll be on the show notes today. But I was really taken aback by the level of collaboration that went into that program and kind of the immediate impact that it was having because when I visited, it was just getting off the ground and identifying the need of taking care of kids in the Chicago area, eliminating wait times for these behavioral health evaluations that are so crucial to child's learning. Maybe it's just myself as a parent. It really struck me personally, but I was really impressed by the level of collaboration that went into that and working with the Carol Robertson Center also in Chicago. And so I thought Dr. Takher would be a great guest to have on because he's got that inside. Look at how those collaborations come together, but also being able to evaluate growth opportunities that may be presenting themselves. Because like I said, this is a program that's having a big impact very quickly. So I'm really excited to be able to talk to him again and have him on the show.
Brian Reardon (02:03):
Alright, well let's get into the conversation again. Our topic for this episode is United and addressing Youth mental health needs in Chicago. And I want to bring in Dr. Anoop Tucker. He's again, interim chair of the Department of Behavioral Health at Saint Anthony Hospital. Welcome, Dr. Tucker. How are you?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (02:20):
Doing well, thank you guys for having me.
Brian Reardon (02:22):
Yeah. So let's start off with tell us a little bit about Saint Anthony Hospital, where it's located in Chicago, the patient population you serve. If you could get a little background on Saint Anthony, I think that'd be helpful for our listeners.
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (02:33):
Yeah, so Saint Anthony Hospital is a small community hospital located in the southwest side of the city, and it's a hospital that serves a very niche population that does a great job in identifying needs of our community and making sure we put together the resources that we know will benefit the patients that we see. So it's all about understanding our families, understanding the children and the patients we see, and making sure we're doing the best that we can do to advocate for their overall health.
Brian Reardon (03:08):
Yeah, and you mentioned identifying need. Josh gave a little bit of background on the SPARK program, but let's get into how that came about. How did the, I guess, the genesis of a program start?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (03:19):
Yeah, so SPARK Program started after Saint Anthony had acknowledged that mental health wait times are so long for five, six months to be able to see a child psychiatrist. So being able to understand the community and what resources are required, we thought that it would be a great opportunity to serve this population by creating our own program, being able to have psychiatric evaluations, medication management, integrating different multidisciplinary approaches like speech therapy, occupational therapy under one roof, and being able to serve our patients in the best way possible.
Brian Reardon (04:04):
And talk a little bit, if you would, about bringing people together in that initial thing, you identified a need. How do you rally folks to come around that? And particularly we know some of the specialists that work in psychiatry and psychology kind of hard to come by. So having, I guess, the human resources, if you will, to provide the services. Was that an initial challenge?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (04:29):
So definitely a challenge to be able to find the right fit for a group of people who have the same mission that Saint Anthony and SPARK do. However, it did not take long. We were able to bring together myself, speech therapists, occupational therapists, advanced practice nurse practitioners and providers who have this mission, who have this passion to care for these families and this community in a way that Saint Anthony strives to do.
Brian Reardon (05:00):
And it's a fairly new program. And we were talking earlier in preparation for this episode about measuring some of the outcomes and what results have you seen? I know wait times you mentioned was a challenge. Have the wait times come down and what kind of results are you seeing through this collaborative effort?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (05:17):
Yes. So we started the program in fall of 2024, and we have exponentially seen an increase in patient populations since February of 2025. We've seen over 1200 patient visits and that number continues to rise. So we see that this resource is being utilized by the community and wait times have been cut down to, for our clinic, one to two days, families can make a phone call and they can get the next available appointment, and that might be today, that might be tomorrow. But being able to provide that is so crucial on a as needed basis for families. If they're having trouble being put on wait lists for three, four months, let's make an impact now. So I think that's what the mission was to do and that's what we continue to do.
Brian Reardon (06:09):
And with those previous wait times, and this is I think something, maybe some learnings for other Catholic health systems that may be listening and looking at this space, those longer wait times, what kind of impact does that have on the patients and their families when they have to actually wait to get access to care?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (06:26):
Those impacts can be detrimental if a child has three, four months without care, that development, that attendance in school, that overall health is just so impacted by the struggle that they face on a day-to-day basis. Mental health is such a diverse field. Not every patient with anxiety is the same. Not every patient with depression is the same. And we measure things differently for different patients on what their goals are, what their idea of success would be. One patient might want to be able to go to school consistently for five days a week. Another patient might want to just be able to get out of bed and do their activities of daily living. So being able to have an individualized treatment approach and understand who we're serving and how to best meet their needs is the best way to provide these crucial resources.
Brian Reardon (07:28):
Can you tell us a little bit about the partners that you have in this collaboration? Obviously schools, I would imagine would be a big part of that. Again, what role do your partners play that aren't necessarily on staff at Saint Anthony?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (07:43):
Having partners and these collaborations are just so important, it provides that outreach, that net of children that we're able to reach. One of the biggest partners that we've come across is Carol Robertson Center, whose goal is to educate, enrich, empower children, and working together that allows us to identify the needs in the classrooms and then meet those needs in a clinical setting as well. So if a child is struggling with A DHD and they need an individualized education plan, we are able to work together on creating those resources and advocating for the families on how to best go about asking for it and advocating for their own children. So K Robinson Center has been a great resource in that regard, and there's always future collaborations as well where we identified the needs, whether it's legal background needs, working with guardian ad litems for children of families who are going through divorce or working through just child advocacy. As we grow as a clinic, we will come across more unique opportunities and be able to address those needs as they arise.
Brian Reardon (08:59):
What about other governmental entities? I don't know if Cook County or the City of Chicago or others. I know the Saint Anthony model overall, as you guys are looking to do more community-based healthcare and move a little bit maybe away from more the acute care setting, what role does the government have and the local government, I should say maybe the state of Illinois as well in this collaborative?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (09:21):
I think the government has a crucial role where once we identify what certain needs are, I think then we are able to address those working together as entities. Whether one of my passions is a forensic kind of background where we can work with the police departments, work with first responders, be able to identify situations where if there's a child with developmental needs, can we respond to those emergencies in a better manner, in a more structured approach, understanding the developmental principles that tailor our response to an individual. How do we best respond to a child who has autism spectrum disorder? Do we respond with authority and force, or do we then take a step back and understand how the world is viewed from that child's eyes? So I think being able to work together on a holistic view on mental health responses, developmental psychiatry, it allows us as entities to collaborate better while also providing the most evidence-based care.
Brian Reardon (10:33):
So would members of your team, for example, and I've seen this model across the country when police are responding to maybe a domestic disturbance or some issue, having a mental healthcare professional with law enforcement is one way to address the needs. You kind of touched on it. Is that something your group gets involved with?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (10:52):
So currently we are not involved in that, but one of my passions is to get involved with that where we can have further conversations with local law enforcement and address the needs specifically in our community. We do a great job at having a tailored treatment approach to patients. The collaborations have been excellent so far with schools and being able to advocate for patients in those settings where they might need an IEP or a 5 0 4 plan and allowing our providers to be in those meetings, in the meetings with the school counselors, the social workers, the nurses, and identifying from their perspective as well what they see in a classroom setting. Mental health is very diverse. We might see a different patient presentation at home. We might see a different patient presentation at school. So the collaboration allows us to get those different situations that a patient is in and incorporate that into a treatment approach. So the more and more that we can do as communities, the better the outcomes are going to be for the children we serve.
Brian Reardon (12:05):
And as you look to the future and look to expand this program, what are some opportunities that you're seeing is is this program develops?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (12:13):
One of the biggest needs in the community is psychotherapy. We have these psychiatry resources at SPARK currently. We see that the wait times are even more for individual therapy providers, group therapy. These situations and settings allow patients to feel more comfortable at times when they know that other children, other adolescents are going through similar developmental issues, similar family stressors as them, and it allows them to express themselves in ways that they wouldn't be able to do. So one of the identified goals is to have more opportunities for group psychotherapy sessions.
Brian Reardon (13:00):
What about the adult population? I know this is focused on children, but is this model something you could apply to adult populations?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (13:09):
Definitely. So mental health is a lifespan. Everything happens and it builds on one another. As children and adolescents, we develop our coping skills and inherent tendencies. And adults, we rely upon those healthy or unhealthy mechanisms to deal with the stressors of life. So one of the goals that Saint Anthony does have in the coming months, years is to expand our SPARK program and be able to also provide adult outpatient mental health care.
Brian Reardon (13:41):
And I know one of the things as we reported on this in Catholic Health World, Josh mentioned the video that he did. We were taken with the fact that most of your patients, maybe not in all of them, rely on Medicaid. And so how was that a factor, having that reliance on Medicaid, particularly with some of the threats to funding that have occurred this summer with the passage of the HR two, the budget reconciliation bill. Does that any concern for the future of the program? And how do you balance the limited resources that Medicaid provide in expanding the program?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (14:17):
So we balance the resources by being able to have that diverse patient population as well, and continuing to identify ways to expand and grow the clinic to be able to serve everyone. So we have identified other avenues, including telehealth and being able to expand that outreach to who we're able to serve. So the number one goal is to serve the community that Saint Anthony is enriched in. However, being able to grow outside those boundaries as well and have all children and adolescents who need care, be a population that we can reach is the ultimate goal. And being able to address them and their concerns as families is the number one goal. However, every organization in situations where they are affected by Medicaid cuts and these growing concerns. However, I think as we work as entities and we work as collaborators, we need to continue to advocate for these resources and be able to speak with our lawmakers and policy makers and just explain how much of an impact focusing and being able to impact development has on the lives of individuals as they progress.
Brian Reardon (15:39):
Well, and I think too, this is an investment, right? As you're working with young children, young adults, the investment you're making in the care they're receiving today are going to save money down the road, right?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (15:53):
Yeah, definitely. Being able to instill those healthy coping mechanisms, instill healthy responses to situational stressors and pathologies that are underlying, whether it be genetically based or environmentally based, if we can focus on the progress an individual can make, the downstream effect of chronic mental health conditions, chronic medical conditions is going to be significantly lower and reduce that overall cost burden.
Brian Reardon (16:24):
And before I bring Josh back into the conversation, any learnings or ideas that you might share with other healthcare organizations that are maybe looking to do a program like this in their community?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (16:39):
Yeah, one of the biggest things that we have come across is just the individualized nature of healthcare. Every patient is different, every family's needs are different. And being able to provide the healthcare education is one of the most crucial things that we can give to families. We can prescribe medications, we can do psychotherapy sessions, we can do the medical component that we're taught to do and ingrained to do as providers, but that humanistic touch. And when we can connect with an individual and show them that we truly have investment into their care and their progress, and we make that connection and educate them on how to best move forward and use the skills that we teach them, they do so much better. And then it is just so amazing to see,
Brian Reardon (17:40):
Josh, you've been listening in and you've obviously covered this program. Any thoughts or questions you have?
Josh Matejka (17:47):
Yeah, Brian, thank you so much, Dr. Takher. Something you said earlier in the conversation really struck me. One of the things I really admire about Saint Anthony and all the work that I've been able to do with y'all and the conversations that I've had with your team is how much you bring the community into it. When we think about the care continuum patients and the people being cared for are a part of that continuum, and they want to be a part of their own care. And you talk about advocating for them, but also teaching them to advocate for themselves within this very crucial developmental stage. Parents for their kids, kids for themselves, and adults for themselves as well. So as you work with these patient populations in these communities, how are you working with them to advocate for themselves as part of that care continuum?
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (18:38):
So empowering families, teaching them to advocate. It's something that underlies all the medical care that we provide. One of the most resourceful opportunities is when a family and a patient have access to all their providers Under one reef, we have our psychiatrists, our advanced practice practitioners, our dietician, our psychotherapists, all in one roof, and we're able to interact and mingle and converse it regarding a patient and make sure that we're providing the best level of care. And advocacy is not only in the clinics. So it's something that we ingrain ourselves into a community and show them that we are a part of your community as well, and we want to see you succeed. So as Saint Anthony Providers, we have done outreach events. We have done a little village, 5K, I've ran with some of my patients. We try to make this connection that allows them to feel that we are a part of their care in a way that we just want to see them succeed, and we want to have that relationship and not just prescribe you a medication. So that connection, that humanistic touch, that ability to just let somebody feel comfortable in who they're divulging, their deepest parts of themselves and their darkest secrets. It goes so far and it's just amazing to see community members succeed when you're able to make that relationship with them.
Josh Matejka (20:27):
That's great. Thanks Dr. Takher.
Brian Reardon (20:29):
Yeah, I think what you just described really is it's a hallmark of Catholic healthcare, so thank you for sharing that. Well, it's been a great conversation. Congratulations on the program. Really appreciate you taking time to talk with us about it, and I hope our listeners were able to get something from it. But again, this is a good collaboration where you're bringing together various parts of the community to really serve a very vulnerable patient population. So again, kudos on the good work you're doing there in Chicago.
Anoop Takher, DO, MJ (20:56):
Yeah, thank you so much. It was a pleasure talking about Saint Anthony and SPARK, and it's all a passion just to see our communities succeed.
Brian Reardon (21:03):
Again, that was Dr. Anoop Takher, Interim Chair, Department of Behavioral Health at Saint Anthony Hospital in Chicago. Again, thanks for being with us. This has been another episode of Health Calls, the podcast of the Catholic Health Association of the United States. I'm your host, Brian Reardon. With me was Josh Matejka, who's our executive producer. We also want to thank Sarah Marchant, who is our scheduling producer, and of course, we're recording here at Once Studios in St. Louis, Missouri appreciate their support and help. You can listen to health calls on all of your favorite podcast apps and streaming services, and of course, you can go to our website, cha usa.org to download the podcast. Just go to the news and publication section across the top and look for podcasts, and you can get all of our episodes from that website. As always, thanks for listening.