Due to the very limited Wi-Fi coverage on the Spokane Reservation, the Spokane Tribe of Indians Behavioral Health program plans to create a mesh network to provide Wi-Fi coverage for its patients. In order to ensure that their clientele can still receive proper health care, HHS will provide Wi-Fi coverage throughout the parking lot outside of its facility in Wellpinit, WA. The parking lot will serve as a virtual facility throughout the COVID-19 emergency.
The Spokane Reservation is a large, rural reservation located in northeastern Washington State along the Spokane River. There are just under 2,200 individuals that reside on the 237 square mile reservation. Around 80% of the total on-Reservation population is American Indian. Approximately two thirds of the population do not have access to adequate Wi-Fi or cell phone coverage. The Spokane Tribe created the HHS Behavioral Health department in order to address the Tribe’s overwhelming substance abuse and mental health disorders. In order to ensure that the Spokane Tribe of Indians Behavioral Health Program continues to provide adequate services to its clientele throughout the COVID-19’s emergency, the mesh network in the parking lot will allow for clientele to continue meeting with caseworkers and mental health counselors.
HHS’s behavioral electronic health record system, InSync, has a built-in, fully-integrated, Zoom-based, HIPAA-compliant, telehealth solution that allows for both individual and group therapy sessions. Additionally, laptops, tablets, and cellphones will be purchased to allow for telehealth solutions that are necessary in order to continue addressing the Spokane Tribe’s substance abuse and mental health disorders, as well as complying with the social distancing regulations in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data will be captured on a day-to-day basis through the intake process, as patients reach six months of therapy, and upon completion of therapy. The Washington State assessment, the PHQ9, the GAD7, Beck’s Depression Inventory, and the ASAM Assessment tool will be used to capture data after six months of therapy and at discharge by the patient’s assigned therapist. It will be compiled and analyzed on a quarterly basis by HHS’s Clinical Applications Coordinator. It will be reviewed periodically by a case review team that will include all six licensed therapists, the Project Director/Behavioral Health Director and the Director of Health and Human Services to identify opportunities for improvement. Areas of improvement will be determined by key performance metrics established jointly by the clinical review team, the Behavioral Health Director and the Director of Health and Human Services. For example, if one key performance indicator is time from intake to first counseling session, the Project Director may be asked to conduct a process map to find opportunities for improvement.