The proposed Reimagining Mental Health Care project will focus on individuals across the lifespan with mental health and substance use needs in Park Center’s primary catchment area in northeastern Indiana, specifically in Allen County (hub clinic) with additional services provided in Adams and Wells counties. Because Allen County has the second largest city (Fort Wayne) in Indiana and is home to the most diverse population in the region, specific outreach will be targeted toward LGBTQ+ and minority populations facing disparities in care.
The project will serve 500 unduplicated individuals in Year 1, 550 in Year 2, 600 in Year 3, and 650 in Year 4, for a total of 2,300 individuals served over the grant period.
Project goals and measurable objectives: The overall goal of the proposed Reimagining Mental Health Care project is to further improve care delivery and expand capacity—with specific outreach focused on those facing disparities in care. The specific project goals are as follows:
• GOAL 1: Increase capacity of Park Center to provide mental health and substance use services. Objective 1a: Increase the number of providers who are willing to prescribe MAT and are routinely doing so by 10% each year of the project. Objective 1b: Increase the number of individuals served in substance use services, including peer support, by 10% each year.
• GOAL 2: Increase capacity of crisis mental health services and improve pathways within the CCBHC and with other community partners’ outpatient services. Objective 2a: Recruit and train mobile intervention team staff to increase the capacity of crisis behavioral health services by 10% each year of the grant. Objective 2b: Through collaboration with community organizations, increase utilization of the 24/7 helpline number by 10% each year of the award period. Objective 2c: Increase the number of patients connected to ongoing outpatient services after hospitalization by 20% each grant year.
• GOAL 3: Increase collaboration between physical and mental health services. Objective 3a: Refine referral and communication pathways between PPG, Alliance Health (FQHC), and Park Center no later than the end of year two of the award period. Objective 3b: Ensure that 90% of individuals seen in behavioral health services have a primary care provider and 80% have seen or will see them within 365 days of their first appointment.
• GOAL 4: Increase the diversity of the behavioral health workforce and the population(s) served, specifically among LGBTQ+ and minority communities. Objective 4a: Strengthen partnerships with local institutions of higher education to develop strategies for recruitment of diverse students into social work and counseling programs. Objective 4b: 95% of Park Center behavioral health personnel will complete both Parkview’s online diversity course, annual in-person trainings, and a cultural competency self-assessment each year to identify ongoing training needs. Objective 4c: Develop/increase the number of support groups, IOP services, and outreach programs to engage/target LBGTQ+ and minority populations (primarily in Allen County, which has the largest minority population in the geographic area) within the first year of the award period.