Fremont-area residents now have an additional option for psychiatric help.
Board-certified Psychiatrist S. Pirzada Sattar MD, who has been a member of the medical staff at Fremont Area Medical Center for more than a year, opened a private clinic in Fremont on June 10.
Addressing mental health issues is a concern everywhere in the United States, however, the situation may be worse in rural America, Sattar said.
“Major depression rates in some rural areas significantly exceed those in urban areas, and teens and older adults in rural areas have significantly higher suicide rates than their urban counterparts,” he said.
Stress is associated with increased mental health disorders.
“Rural people experience added stress with cyclical farm crises, natural disasters, and social isolation,” Sattar said.
But while the need for mental health providers is great in rural areas, those are the regions most commonly underserved. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services not only designated Dodge County as an underserved area, but also 81 other counties in the state. Basically, everyone who lives outside a 25-mile radius of Lincoln or Omaha are not receiving the mental health services they need, Sattar said.
“An adequate number of trained mental healthcare providers simply does not exist in many parts of rural America,” he said.
Sattar’s clinic, Psychiatric Services of Fremont, is at 2350 N. Clarkson St. in the Medical Office Building. He will see patients with psychiatric needs noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
He will continue to serve as the medical director for the Senior Solutions program at FAMC and provide psychiatric consult for FAMC’s inpatients.
Sattar can be reached at (402) 941-7245.
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