Lubbock Regional MHMR Center dba StarCare Specialty Health System (StarCare) will support and restore the delivery of services impacted by COVID-19 - outpatient psychiatric services, the Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT), and the Extended Observation Unit (EOU). Services will be provided to 500 unduplicated individuals in the Texas counties of Cochran, Crosby, Hockley, Lubbock, and Lynn for each year of the grant for a total of 1,000 unduplicated individuals receiving CMHC services over the lifetime of the grant. The target population for these services are individuals with serious emotional disturbances (SED), serious mental illness (SMI), and individuals with SED or SMI and substance use disorders, known as co-occurring disorders (COD).
StarCare has the responsibility for the development, management, and oversight of a system of care serving approximately 14,000 individuals annually. StarCare’s service area has an average poverty rate of 17.9% which is higher than the state average of 13.6%. Sixteen percent are without health insurance. Of the approximately 14,000 people with SED, SMI, and/or COD who receive services through StarCare, 78% are female and 22% are male. Approximately 24% report their ethnicity as African American, 25% Latinx, and 50% Caucasian. Fifty-nine percent are between the ages of 19 and 64. As of May 3, 2021, there have been a total of 48,956 cases of COVID-19 in Lubbock County (population 310,569) with 156 active cases and 725 deaths. With a total population of 40,373, the other four counties served by StarCare have reported 4,393 cases and 169 deaths combined.
Goal 1: Maintain and sustain care coordination services provided to people with SMI, SED, and COD who have accessed crisis services through the EOU to help them engage in ongoing outpatient services. Care coordinators will assist 150 individuals screened through the EOU gain access to outpatient care for each year of the grant.
Goal 2: Maintain and sustain 24/7 walk-in crisis assessment and stabilization services provided to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis through the EOU. The EOU will provide these services to 500 unduplicated individuals for each year of the grant.
Goal 3: Increase outpatient psychiatric clinic capacity by 200 slots to provide outpatient psychiatric care and medication management for individuals with SMI, SED, and COD. These added slots are intended for consumers who have accessed crisis services (EOU) but who do not have a resource to pay for ongoing care.
Goal 4: Enhance existing aftercare services through benefits assistance. StarCare will hire a Benefits Coordinator to provide benefits assistance and/or benefits reinstatement for 100% of the individuals accessing crisis services in need of ongoing care and for individuals in need of benefits reinstatement upon release from incarceration or hospitalization. Benefits staff will screen 100% of the individuals discharging from the EOU for Medicaid eligibility.