Behavioral Health Services North (BHSN) Inc is seeking to becoming a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic through the CCBHC Expansion Grant Application. - Behavioral Health Services North (BHSN) offers comprehensive mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services in northeastern New York (NY). We will expand regional availability of services, while expanding infrastructure to control cost as we transition to value-based payments (VBP). We will expand SUD services, including medication-assisted treatment, and focus on specific programs for key populations we serve-veterans, tribes, and older adults.
BHSN currently provides MH, SUD, and social services to more than 5,000 annual clients of all ages is northeastern NY with 20 licensed outpatient and residential programs in 37 facilities located in the largest population hub (Plattsburgh) north of NY's Capital District, bordered by highly rural areas abutting Canada in Clinton, Franklin, and Essex counties. This project will address unmet need for MH and SUD services within these three counties for children, adolescents, adults and older adults. Our project focuses on the hiring of direct care staff and care coordinators, training that supports our targeted programs for veterans, tribes, older adults, and individuals affected by domestic violence, and measurement enhancements to our EHR.
Because of our emphasis on treating patients across their lifespan, we have an ideal opportunity to change population health status and bend the cost curve. We will enhance care coordination and direct care capacity; expand our data collection, measurement, and reporting capabilities; promote greater mobility for community-based staff; and advance interoperability. With these additional capabilities, we will make sure our clients receive the most appropriate care at the right time and setting, which supports our transition to VBP and long-term financial sustainability. We expect to achieve specific, measurable change in health status indicators such as tobacco use, BMI, screening rates, follow-up on hospitalization or crisis care, and reduced hospitalization rates. We will increase unduplicated clients by 10% annually and retaining 60% of those clients year-over-year for a total of 1,053 incremental clients over the 2-year project.
Our long-term financial sustainability strategy emphasizes moving from volume to value by collaborating with other organizations on shared goals for improving health status across our community. We will collaborate to improve care and lower cost. We will continue to develop innovative population health improvement strategies supported by VBP. We are a leader in the emerging VBP market in northeastern NY, currently co-founding the Northwinds Integrated Health Network IPA, where we are on track to complete our first VBP contract early this year, and participating in the North Country Innovation Pilot. We will continue to collaborate with 13 MH and SUD providers across the 7 rural counties in northeastern NY through Northwinds and other arrangements. We will work with St. Joseph's Addiction Treatment and Recovery Center for medical detox. We will align program goals with Citizen Advocates, the only other CCBHC in our region; we currently collaborate, share promising practices, and jointly pursue funding for transformative programs that rationalize use of scarce resources to provide local care.
