Working together to improve care: collaboration between a state psychiatric hospital and an academic institution

This article describes a collaboration between state mental health services division and a state university that focuses on the improvement of patient care services in state psychiatric hospitals. The collaboration is different from other initiatives linking state institutions and academia as it is composed of a team of psychiatrists, advanced practice nurses, and master's prepared psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners. The historical development and accomplishments are described and the process of working with a state psychiatric hospital is explored.