Recently, you heard from the creative team—our writer, photographers, and videographers—for our award-winning 2011 annual report focused on mental health and older adults. In that blog post, Don Battershall reported that in order to capture the stories of the older adults, caregivers, and health care professionals featured in the annual report, he needed to “really slow down and just listen, let the person talk.”

Today, we are delighted to give you the opportunity to “slow down and listen,” just as Don did, through the first of our collection of 2011 annual report videos.

The first video features Elizabeth, an inspiring older adult who overcame years of depression triggered by the murder of her daughter and subsequent death of her husband. Elizabeth, together with her Depression Care Manager Rita Haverkamp, RN, MNS, CNS, participated in Project IMPACT—a successful, Hartford-funded model to assess and treat depression in a primary care setting.

Elizabeth’s story is a powerful one, told by a fascinating woman. We recommend you listen to her firsthand.

http://vimeo.com/46815825

Jurgen Unutzer, MD, MPH, launched Project IMPACT in 1999. Since then, the project has received over $11 million dollars from the Hartford Foundation, as well as the Hogg Foundation, California Healthcare Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Research demonstrates that the IMPACT model more than doubles the effectiveness of usual depression treatment for older adults in a primary care setting, with 50 percent of IMPACT patients reporting a reduction in depressive symptoms one year later as compared to only 19 percent receiving usual care.

Project IMPACT has had a profound effect on the lives of the older adults who have participated in the program. To learn more about it, we recommend you listen to another video in the series, in which Dr. Unutzer explains IMPACT’s purpose and structure.

http://vimeo.com/46302344

Thanks to Elizabeth, Rita, and Jurgen for sharing these stories in their own words, and for making a powerful and positive change in the way primary care providers can assess and treat older adults with depression.

Stay tuned for more annual report videos. We hope you will be just as excited to watch them as we are.