For the first time, a new case manager will be able to provide University of Wisconsin students with more complex mental health issues multifaceted social and academic support while remaining on campus.

Danielle Oakley, director of counseling and consultation services at University Health Services, said though the university caters to many different kinds of students encountering difficulties, the needs of specific students are sometimes more than UHS can provide for.

She said the decision to hire Molly Kloehn as the first case manager for the new program was funded by a grant from the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates.

Kloehn will handle specific student cases throughout the course of their treatment, providing daily support and connecting students with resources on campus and in the community.

“The case manager needs to be an expert in what resources are available and have a heartbeat of what’s happening in each agency they’re in contact with,” Oakley said.

She said UHS health professionals have traditionally dealt with these individual cases, but the case manager position allows for the students’ progress to be consistently monitored.

Kloehn began seeing students Nov. 2 and has worked with 50 students so far, Oakley said.

The case manager will work with students who are withdrawing from academics and can connect students experiencing substantial mental health problems based on finances with scholarships, on-campus jobs and transportation, she said.

Kloehn also works with the Division of Student Life to inform professors about a particular student’s circumstances, Oakley said.

Tom Templeton, a UW junior said the oversight committee, which he sits on, rates MIU proposals submitted by students and other members of the campus community before handing their recommendations to the deans and department heads.

He also said the committee saw a significant need for the services of a UHS case manager on campus.

“I think in recent years we’ve been seeing an obvious increase in demand from students for mental health services,” Templeton said. “There has also been a marked increase in the cost to provide these services to students.”

He added students encounter a different set of issues and stressors on a daily basis so they are more prone to requiring the services UHS offers.