Monday, November 25, 2024
11/25/2024
SUMMARY OF PROJECT: Metropolitan Community Health Services (MCHS), a 501(c) (3) non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), is applying for the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Expansion Grant to increase access to high quality community mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) or SUD, including opioid use disorders (OUD); children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance (SED); and individuals with co-occurring mental and substance disorders (COD) in rural eastern North Carolina with a focus on vulnerable, low-income and uninsured populations. OVERVIEW OF MCHS: MCHS provides primary medical, dental, pharmacy, and behavioral health services including Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) services to vulnerable populations in rural eastern North Carolina on a sliding fee scale. MCHS serves the rural counties of Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell, and Washington in North Carolina. PROJECT NAME: CCBHC Expansion in Rural Eastern North Carolina POPULATIONS TO BE SERVED: MCHS will serve persons with SMI, SUD, SED, and COD throughout its five-county service area, with a focus on vulnerable homeless, Medicaid, uninsured, underinsured, indigent, and low-income populations. There is a strong need for improved access to these proposed services in this rural service area where according to the Uniform Data System Mapper Report, over 40% of the population are low-income residents with incomes under 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, 22% live in poverty, and 11% are uninsured. According to the NC Injury & Violence Prevention Branch, the number of opioid poisoning emergency department (ED) visits in the service area more than doubled from 67 in 2009 to 139 in 2018, and there were 807 total opioid-related ED visits during this time period. Also, from 2009 - 2018, there were over 388 opioid poisoning hospitalizations in MCHS’s service area. The need for behavioral health and SUD services is exacerbated as all five counties are designated by HRSA as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) for mental health, and the suicide rates in most of these counties are significantly higher than the Healthy NC Target. STRATEGIES & INTERVENTIONS: MCHS plans to expand access to behavioral health services via the following strategies: 1) Increase staffing to establish a certified ACT Team with a dedicated vehicle; 2) Increase staffing to establish a 24/7 Mobile Crisis Team with a dedicated vehicle; 3) Staff a mobile unit to provide outreach and mobile behavioral health services to remote parts of the service area, including Belhaven, Aurora and other areas with no behavioral health services; 4) Add a multi-passenger van to transport patients for behavioral health services; 5) Provide the following trainings for all direct-care clinical staff: Trauma-informed care, CPI training, and ACT training; 6) Partner with Cherry Hospital and Walter B. Jones Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center to provide psychiatric and supporting behavioral health services; 7) Partner with PORT Human Services to provide detox services; 8) Utilize telehealth equipment to support behavioral health and MAT services; and 9) Provide mobile continuity of care for these services in eastern NC during emergency weather scenarios endemic during hurricane season (June 1 to November 30). GOALS: 1) To increase access to high quality community mental health and SUD treatment for individuals with SMI, SUD, SED, and COD in rural eastern North Carolina with a focus on vulnerable populations and 2) To reduce the number of emergency department related to SMI, SED and OUD. OBJECTIVES: 1) MCHS will serve 650 people in Year 1; 800 people in Year 2; and 1,450 people total and 2) By the end of Year 2, the number of SMI, SED and OUD-related emergency room visits will decrease by 20%.
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).
