Wednesday, February 5, 2025
2/5/2025
Chautauqua County, NY, is a large rural area with individuals who have pronounced mental health and substance use disorder treatment needs. Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene is the largest, most comprehensive provider of behavioral health services in this area. CCBHC will fill service gaps; improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of vulnerable county residents; relieve over-burdened emergency rooms; and more effectively leverage resources. The project is Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene Certified Community Behav-ioral Health Clinic Grant. This project will serve the large rural county of Chautauqua (popula-tion 127,939) and those who are in need of treatment for serious mental illness, serious emo-tional disturbance, substance use disorder or co-occurring disorders. The county suffers from significant socioeconomic stresses and has a high prevalence of SMI, SED, SUD, and co-occurring disorders. In Chautauqua County suicide death rates are 72% higher than in New York state as a whole; adults experience frequent mental distress are among the five highest out of all 62 counties in NYS; adult ER BH visits exceed that of WNY as a whole and pediatric ER BH visits are twice that of WNY; and is known to have the highest “opioid burden” with an overdose death rate that is 65% higher than the entire state as a whole. These shocking statistics lead CCDMH to the following project goals and objectives: One, increase care coordination to assist consumers with all health-related needs. This will be done by increasing appointment at-tendance/compliance 15%, decreasing gaps in consumer care 10%, and 15% increase in con-sumer linkages. Two, promote recovery and mental health wellness through a comprehensive range of services. This will be accomplished through outreach and social support services in-creasing by 20% to assist with reducing hospitalizations, suicide, and jail; a 10% decrease in opioid related overdoses with MAT services; and a 15% improved monitoring rate of EBPs and assessment tools specific to suicide. Finally, decrease the number of ER visits for evaluation and/or admission due to SMI, SED, or SUD. This will be accomplished by implementing EBP eco-systemic family therapy to reduce child/youth hospitalizations by 5%, increasing rapid ac-cess to services by 10%; and decreasing high risk BH and SUD by 10% due to enhanced crisis services intervention. Therefore, interventions will include MAT, enhanced crisis services, in-creased care coordination efforts, use of EBPs and rapid access of services. The unduplicated number of individuals Chautauqua County’s CCBHC plans to serve year one is 2500 consumers and 6,000 consumers total. Queen Elizabeth II said, “the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat. Instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.” Those with mental illness and substance use are the courageous ones. It is the organizations, such as CCDMH, who are the determined ones to help the courageous get a better future. CCDMH believes a CCBHC award will create a better future for our courageous.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).