CCBHC-PDI - Southwest Counseling Service (SCS) intends to utilize the CCBHC-PDI grant to improve behavioral health outcomes through transforming mental health and substance use disorder treatment in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, to include improving access to comprehensive high quality care, integration of primary and behavioral health care, increase use of evidence-based practices (EBP), and improve rates of care initiation, engagement and follow-up. Specific populations of focus include children with serious emotional disturbance (SED); adults with serious mental illness (SMI); SUD opioid use disorders; and co-occurring disorders. These populations of focus include the most vulnerable individuals, especially disparate populations such as low socioeconomic status, active-duty military/veterans, as well as individuals with undertreated or untreated behavioral health issues. Priority will be given to individuals and families experiencing MH or SUD crisis. The catchment area is rural and frontier, overwhelmingly Caucasian, English speaking, and of similar age distribution as the U.S. Sweetwater County is a HRSA-designated High Needs Geographic Health Professional Shortage Area for both mental health and primary care as well as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas county. Individuals living in Sweetwater County have numerous social and economic factors impacting their health and well-being including poverty and wage disparity, poor general health status, chronic health conditions, health risk behaviors, and difficulties accessing adequate and coordinated primary care and behavioral health services. Suicide, depression, underage binge drinking, opioid and methamphetamine use, and adult alcohol-related incidents are relatively high in the service area for both adults and children, as compared to state and national rates. Disparities for the populations of focus related to the social determinants of health exist in the areas of healthcare provider shortages, high cost of health care, lack of insurance, minimal public transportation, limited public housing, low wage employment, and insufficient public resources. SCS is a component unit of Sweetwater County government and is established as a public, non-profit, Community Mental Health Board having served the designated service area for more than 60 years. SCS is accredited by the CARF and already provides all nine required CCBHC services. While SCS is a comprehensive treatment center serving the entire community, service gaps include rates of care initiation, engagement and follow up; integrated whole-person outpatient treatment; intensive wraparound family treatment; comprehensive treatment for children and adolescents; and active-duty military/veteran tailored care. SCS intends to serve a minimum of 300 unduplicated individuals each year for a total of 1,200 and will utilize CCBHC funds to expand and enhance existing treatment services while also investing in new initiatives that meet critical service gaps. Goals for SCS's CCBHC project include: 1) Improve behavioral health outcomes among populations of MH/SUD through integrated CCBHC expansion efforts, 2) Elevate standards of care through implementation of Evidence-Based Practices to provide the highest level of quality patient- and family-centered care, 3) Improve crisis response and services to ensure individuals experiencing a crisis receive the appropriate level of care, 4) Improve active-duty and veterans engagement in services and care coordination, and 5) Implement an outcomes-based treatment model and increase data utilization for decision-making. Strategies for the project are designed to increase standard of care, staff capacity, client experience, clinical outcomes, and technology infrastructure to improve client access and quality of experience, and population health, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.
