Project ECHO | MCD Global Health

Featured Projects
Project ECHO

The MCD Project ECHO® approach is an extension of the mission and vision set forth by the University of New Mexico's Project ECHO, a lifelong learning and guided practice model that revolutionizes medical education and increases workforce capacity to provide best-practice specialty care and reduce health disparities.

Since 2018, MCD has been an official Project ECHO hub, embracing this model to share knowledge, leading multiple programs across diverse focus areas.

What is Project ECHO?

Referred to as the 'all teach, all learn' model, Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a globally recognized, telementoring model rooted in adult learning principles. Rather than traditional didactic training, ECHO uses case-based learning, peer-to-peer dialogue, and expert mentoring to cultivate collaborative, confident, and well-equipped providers.

In 2003, Dr. Sanjeev Arora developed this learning model where participants engage in a virtual community with their peers and share support, guidance and feedback. This results in a collective understanding of how to disseminate and implement best practices across a range of disciplines.

Logo from Project ECHO at the University of New Mexico

Location

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, U.S.

Partners

Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); Maine Department of Education; Maine Pediatric Behavioral Health Partnership; New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy & Practice; and Co-Occurring Collaborative of Southern ME

Funder

HRSA

Duration

2018–2025

Website

hsc.unm.edu/echo

Contact

Sherri Billings
Project Manager
sbillings@mcd.org

Challenges

Growing complexity, limited specialist access, disconnected systems, and stretched staff make it hard to deliver consistent, timely care, especially in rural or resource-constrained communities. People face long waits and confusing pathways, and services do not always share information. The result is uneven support, repeated stories, and care that is harder to coordinate close to home.

Solution

Project ECHO bridges this gap by fostering a real-time, interdisciplinary learning community where providers present real cases, gain feedback from specialists, and share strategies with peers. This format reduces provider isolation, boosts clinical confidence, and directly improves patient care.

ECHO Programs MCD Supports

Clinical ECHOs: Maine Pediatric and Behavioral Health Partnership

The Maine Pediatric and Behavioral Health Partnership (MPBHP) is a collaborative initiative involving the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Northern Light Acadia Hospital, MaineHealth, and MCD Global Health. MPBHP works to empower pediatric providers across Maine, particularly in rural and underserved areas, by enhancing their capacities to address evolving behavioral health needs of children and adolescents. Through education, teleconsultation, and innovative programming, MPBHP supports providers with practical tools and expert guidance, creating lasting impacts in communities that often lack access to child psychiatry and behavioral health specialists.

The ongoing MPBHP Pediatric Psychiatry in the Primary Care Setting ECHO has evolved into a dynamic learning hub with participants representing 24 unique professional roles, including physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, case managers, educators, and behavioral health clinicians. This diversity deepens the dialogue and enhances the relevance of each session.

Results

231%

increase in average session attendance.

1,053

total attendances as of fall 2025.

702

CMEs/CEUs awarded through participation surveys.

Educational ECHOs

Promoting Behavioral Health ECHO (Massachusetts)

The Promoting Behavioral Health ECHO, a virtual learning collaborative designed to strengthen the bridge between schools and health care, began in Massachusetts in 2024. Through case-based learning and expert-led discussion, participants came together across roles and regions to explore real-time strategies for supporting student mental health and well-being.

Promoting Stronger Connections ECHO (Maine Department of Education (DOE))

In Maine, the 2023–24 school year was marked by a series of devastating tragedies that rippled through school communities, leaving educators grappling with grief, fear, and exhaustion. To support the healing process and build long-term resilience, MCD partnered with the Maine Department of Education (DOE) to launch another statewide initiative: Promoting Stronger Connections ECHO.

The series offers realtime, practical support for educators facing the cascading effects of trauma. From managing extreme classroom behaviors to recognizing and responding to secondary trauma, each session blended short, targeted learning segments with open dialogue and shared problem solving. This resulted in a virtual community that not only addressed these current issues, but also helped schools develop trauma-informed practices that can withstand future challenges.

Through this collaboration, MCD and the Maine DOE ensured that every educator, no matter their role or location, could access high-quality support rooted in fidelity to the ECHO model.

From Absenteeism to Hope

Back of young girl running into a school building with a backpack on

The true power of ECHO lies in its ability to turn shared learning into tangible action. In one particularly moving case presented during the Promoting Stronger Connections series, an elementary school counselor shared the story of a 9-year-old student repeating second grade due to extensive absences. After presenting the case during one of the sessions, the counselor returned to school the next day with a renewed perspective and a plan. The student’s class sent a Valentine’s Day gift to his home, helping to re-establish connection.

A special education teacher met with the family and even accompanied them to a testing site. Weekly homework packets began arriving at the student’s home, and an individualized education plan meeting was scheduled. “I have hope about moving forward with this student,” the counselor shared in a follow-up. “The ECHO helped me be patient with the process, and I appreciated the encouragement from everyone.”

This was not an isolated outcome. Across the series, participants described feeling seen, supported, and reinvigorated in their work. With Promoting Behavioral Health ECHO and Promoting Stronger Connections, MCD is helping educators feel seen, supported, and empowered, proving what’s possible when we use technology not just to connect, but to care.

When education and health care professionals are given space to learn from each other, it strengthens the systems that support young people.

Collaborative for Advancing Rural Excellence and Equity

The Collaborative for Advancing Rural Excellence & Equity (CARE²) is federally funded to provide Project ECHO programs and asynchronous eLearning courses related to behavioral health topics for older adults and persons with substance use disorder for care teams in rural Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.

A man talking with other people on a virtual meeting at a computer.

Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program

The Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program was recently launched by MCD and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to serve providers and communities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The program aims to improve access to care and connections among providers and addresses topics facing rural health providers serving people with mental health and substance use disorders.

MCD Project ECHO^®