Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Ashley Foster

Ashley Foster, MD, an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics in the UC San Francisco Department of Emergency Medicine and Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, is the UCSF Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies' Faculty Spotlight Conversation of the month! 

Dr. Foster's research focuses on enhancing the care of children and adolescents experiencing behavioral health crises, both within the emergency department and beyond acute care settings. She is currently investigating a collaborative follow-up contact intervention linking a local crisis center with the emergency department to support youth at increased risk of suicide. 

"I hope that if it's feasible and effective, this intervention (pairing follow-up from a crisis call center to youth who are treated at an ED with suicide risk) can be expanded to all of the different areas where a crisis call center already exists. So that means it would reach potentially youth who are even at higher risk – who live in rural communities or areas that really don't have any access to a pediatric mental health provider," Dr. Foster tells IHPS.

Watch the interview below.