Thursday, December 12, 2024
12/12/2024
Organization: Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. (H80CS006961800) 1205 F Avenue, Douglas, AZ 85607 Project Director Name: Tamika Sullivan, MSW, LCSW Contact Phone Number: (520) 459-3011 ext 7771 Email Address: twilliams@cchci.org Website Address: cchci.org Fiscal Year 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - $600,000 The Behavioral Health Service Expansion program supports health centers to increase access to care through expanding mental health and substance use disorder services. Chiricahua Community Health Centers (Chiricahua) proposes to use this grant to improve behavioral health access in rural Cochise County, Arizona. Cochise County is designated as a health professional shortage area (HPSA) for mental health based on having one mental health provider for 720 individuals. Arizona averages one mental health provider for 550 people but the ideal ratio is closer to 1:250. Sixteen percent of adults in the county reported experiencing poor mental health for 14 or more days during the prior month. Eighteen percent of adults reported binge drinking or heavy alcohol consumption leading to 25% of motor vehicle deaths involving alcohol. Drug overdose deaths show a rate of 42.1 per 100,000 in Cochise County compared to the United States average of 36.8. Opioids accounted for 24.1 of those deaths. Cochise County has been designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the Office of National Drug Control Policy since 1990. The county Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office work with Customs and Border Protection, as well as other federal agencies, to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of drug control efforts along the county’s 100-mile US-Mexico border. Cochise County has a population of 124,000 with 45.4% of individuals identifying as a racial or ethnic minority. Seventeen percent of the population live below the federal poverty threshold but 21% of children live below the poverty level. The numbers are more striking for Chiricahua’s patients: 52% live below the poverty threshold, 22% have no health insurance, and 64% identify has a racial or ethnic minority. Chiricahua will increase access to mental health care by working with Cochise College, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and local law enforcement to establish a referral process for evaluation and treatment services. Care will be offered to students seen on Chiricahua’s mobile medical clinics using telehealth. Workforce expansion will include a psychiatric registered nurse to coordinate services as patients move from inpatient to outpatient services, and three behavioral health counselors. Quality activities will include application for Distinction in Behavioral Health from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Chiricahua pro-actively required all medical providers to be MAT certified in 2022, and substance use treatment, including medication for opioid use disorder, will expand to Chiricahua’s clinics in Sierra Vista, the largest city in Cochise County. Chiricahua will hire a licensed substance abuse counselor with the funding. To improve substance use identification, screening tools will be incorporated into the patient portal of the electronic health record. Chiricahua will coordinate with local hospitals, harm reduction programs, and law enforcement to expand referrals for substance use medication and treatment services. Chiricahua will offer educational programs to secondary school students to raise awareness, reduce stigmatization, and provide practical information for identifying warning signs of anxiety and depression as well as naloxone administration. Case managers will assist with meeting health-related social needs relying on local agencies and resources, including our internal Chiricahua Cares Fund. This funding will not only increase access to mental health and substance use services in the county but will impact morbidity and mortality.
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).
