Enhancing Psychiatric Services in Primary Care for Underserved Communities in South Central and Southeast Louisiana - Mercy Family Center (MFC) is expanding access to mental health and substance use disorder services in south-central and southeastern Louisiana by integrating psychiatric care into primary care settings for traditionally underserved populations. The project's overarching goal is to enhance access to mental health services by identifying and treating mental health conditions in collaboration with regional Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). MFC will achieve this by supporting mental health and substance use disorder interventions and programming in primary care settings through training, consultation, and increasing the availability readily accessible virtual psychiatric care for underserved communities throughout south-central Louisiana. The goals of this collaborative project are to: 1) Increase the knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction of primary care physicians, advanced practitioners, and nurses in providing psychiatric care using this project's collaborative care model, 2) Increase the number of individuals receiving psychiatric care, 3) Demonstrate improvements in mental health functioning for patients referred for psychiatric consultation 4) Improve the understanding among primary care providers on critical mental health topics, and 5) Patients receiving psychiatric care from MFC will express high levels of satisfaction with their treatment and collaborative care with averaged satisfaction scores above '4’ (Likert scale of 1 - 5). Measurable objectives include: Goal #1 (a) By December 31, 2025, primary care providers receiving consultation from psychiatrists will develop treatment plans for patients with a specific psychiatric diagnosis, including medication selection, dosage, and potential side effects. (b) By September 29, 2025, primary care providers receiving consultation from MFC psychiatrists will demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with this project and the Collaborative Care Model. Goal #2 (a) By September 29, 2025, the number of newly referred patients receiving brief MFC psychiatric consultation/care will exceed 100. Goal #3 (a) Demonstrate by September 29, 2025, average overall improvement scores in pre-post measures of depression and anxiety for patients under direct psychiatric care as measured by the PHQ-9 and GAD-7. Goal #4 (a) Throughout the one-year project period, primary care providers will score 80% or higher on a multiple-choice assessment in the instructional area. Goal #5 (a) Patients who receive psychiatric care will express high levels of satisfaction with their care and the collaborative model, with overall averaged satisfaction scores above ‘4’ (Likert scale of 1 – 5). The number of individuals to be served for the project is projected to be 500. MFC will collaborate with two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to enhance and expand mental health and substance abuse services across south-central and southeastern Louisiana, covering multiple parishes with severe shortages of psychiatrists, as indicated by Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) scores. According to the Louisiana Health and Human Services 2022 Report Card, Public Health Region 4 in south-central Louisiana has the state's second-highest depression rate at 27.1%. Orleans Parish has the 5th highest homicide rate in the U.S. at 47.0 per 100,000, highlighting the need for trauma-informed care. Louisiana's homicide rate (18.8 per 100,000) is the 3rd highest in the nation. This project, funded by SAMHSA, aims to improve mental health outcomes and reduce violence and suicide rates in the region.
