HELENA – A new web app to connect Montana users to local health officials is in the works.
Three years ago, Townsend native Jena Smith, founder and developer of the “Bright App,” created a web platform to aid those searching for licensed clinical professionals in Montana.
The app will allow users to search and locate addiction counselors, behavior health specialists, oncology physicians, new mothers with postpartum depression, and even those struggling with gambling addiction.
It’s a public-facing tool for parents, caregivers, hospitals and even urgent care facilities.
“Bright App” will provide a list of organized data to anyone who needs to find out who and where healthcare providers are practicing.
Smith said she knows how difficult it is to find mental health services.
“I just feel like we need a easy way to not just go to a primary care provider and ask for a referral, which is a great option, but to be able to take it in your own hands and say, ‘You know, my child is struggling with peer relationships or school issues’ and be able to get a list of providers and make those phone calls myself, too, if I’m not seeing the results that I need to,” she said.
Smith said the reason it’s called the “Bright App” is because she felt people were starting to talk more about mental health and were shining a bright light on the issue.
For more information on where and how to use the web-app prototype, click here.
Story by Christine Sullivan, MTN News
