Rural Health Care Services Outreach Grant Program - Project Title: HRSA Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program in Batesville, Arkansas. White River Health (WRH) is requesting $250,000 for each project year (Years 1-4). Service Area and Target Population The target population for this outreach program includes Northcentral Arkansas rural residents who reside in WRH’s primary service area of (6) six medically underserved counties: Independence, Sharp, Stone, Jackson, Cleburne, Izard, & Lawrence, & other neighboring rural counties who have historically suffered from poor health outcomes, each ranging from 15-25.1% living below poverty level. Project Goals and Objectives 1. Expanding WRH’s Behavioral Health team to provide enhanced services for substance use disorder (SUD) services within a WRH Primary Care Clinic and WRH’s Behavioral Health Clinic. 2. Decrease behavioral health utilization of emergency department service. 3. Development of Crisis Care Team consisting of Virtual Crisis Care Coordinator (VCCC) and emergency responders in crisis response efforts. 4. Expand the delivery of health care services via Telehealth, increasing access for psychiatric medication management and referrals. 5. Increasing health literacy of community by offering education on SUD, suicide prevention, & crisis management. 6. Incorporate Comet by providing workshops for student wellness programs and community outreach. 7. Enhance Awareness of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) by training staff and incorporating screenings into primary care and behavioral health settings. 8. Integrate SAMSHA Crisis Toolkit and Mental Health First Aid by conducting training within the consortium and crisis education to the community. 9. Enhance C-SSRS and AS-Q by training all front-line staff (emergency department, primary care, campus counselors) to use these tools for suicide risk assessment. 10. Stanley Brown Safety Planning: train student health services, emergency responders and mental health providers to create individualized safety plans. 11. Train healthcare professionals/student health to screen for substance abuse. 12. Utilize PHQ-9 scores to measure depression symptoms in primary care setting. Evidence-based or Evidence-informed model(s) • Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model • Integrated Care Model • Crisis Intervention Model: • Comet Model • Motivational Interviewing (MI) • Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) • SBIRT • Mental Health First Aid • SAMHSA Crisis Tool Kit • PDSA • Additional screening and training/screening tools: Stanley Brown Safety Planning, SDOH screening, PHQ-9, SUD, ASK toolkit, Columbia suicide severity rating scale (CSSRS). Expected Outcomes 1. Improved mental health literacy in community about suicide prevention and crisis management through community questionnaires & Community Health Needs Assessment. 2. Reduced emergency room utilization for behavioral health related crises. 3. Increased mental health screenings in primary care settings & referrals for telehealth psychiatric medication management. 4. Increased mental health appointment retention via telehealth services. 5. Improved PHQ-9 screening scores throughout grant cycle. 6. Reduced hospital readmissions for psychiatric services. 7. Increased referrals & access to resources related to SDOH Capacity to Serve Rural Underserved Populations WRH is current recipient of a HRSA Small Healthcare Provider Quality Improvement grant, which has successfully integrated behavioral health services/telehealth into 3 separate rural health care clinics, is increasing cancer screenings, is improving nutritional status of community residents through Registered Dietitian services and increasing access to resources via Community Health Worker. WRH is also in a consortium grant with Arkansas Community Health Network (ACHN). Funding Preference WRH qualifies for the Health Professional Shortage Area, Medically Underserved Community Populations, and the Focus on Primary Care/Wellness/Prevention Strategies funding preferences.
