Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - UNHS serves the majority of San Juan County, Utah from Blanding, Utah south to the Arizona border, east to the Colorado border and is bordered on the west by the San Juan County border with Wayne County and Lake Powell. The service area also includes Monticello, Utah which is 22 miles north of Blanding where UNHS provides dental services. The majority of the UNHS service area covers the Utah Strip of the Navajo Nation which is the northernmost part of the Navajo Nation wherein UNHS has health centers located in Montezuma Creek, Monument Valley, and Navajo Mountain which is one of the most remote locations in the lower 48 states. Populations to be served by the proposed project include a large population of American Indians (AI) residing along the Utah Strip of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County. San Juan County is the largest county in Utah and all communities in the county are considered federally designated frontier communities with a population density of 1.8 people per square mile. The Utah Strip of the Navajo Nation is 2,654 square miles. According to census.gov, in 2020, 7,278 American Indians lived in San Juan County. Within the UNHS service area there are higher than average rates of suicide, domestic violence intervention, mental illness, substance abuse, trauma, grief, chronic illnesses, self-harm, school behavioral issues, sexual assault and incest. According to the Utah Department of Health from 2018 to 2020, the age-adjusted suicide rate in Utah was 21.4 per 100,000 persons, with an average of 657 suicides per year. Utah had the 6th highest age-adjusted suicide rate in the U.S. in 2019. Among American Indians in Utah the rate was 25.9 per 100,000. In the 2021 San Juan School District LEA SHARP Survey, 6-12th grade responses indicated that 22% of students (nearly 1 in 4) were in the high need category for mental health treatment needs. As indicated in the UNHS Electronic Health Record (EHR), in 2021, when a patient was triggered to take a PHQ-9 at their primary care visit, 45% scored positive for mild to severe depression. Only 15% of those that scored positive for a mild to severe depression on the PHQ-9 had a follow up visit with Behavioral Health Therapist within 30 days. As per the Utah Department of Health, American Indians and Alaska Natives are impacted with the highest numbers of ACEs, 30.9% having 4+ ACEs. The UNHS patient population, according to 2021 UDS data, is 70% American Indian. UNHS has been providing mental health services to patients for over 13 years and the demand for mental health and SUD services has only increased during that time. UNHS BH department currently has a strong clinical workforce with Telepsychiatry, in person APRN, therapist, case managers and peer support. However, we are limited in the quantity of services we can provide. This funding will allow the Behavioral Health departments infra-structure to grow and reach more community members suffering with mental illness and or substance use disorder. With BHSE funding, UNHS will increase the total number of patients that will have access to mental health services and begin providing SUD services including treatment with MOUD. Goal: Increase total mental health patients served at UNHS health centers in Year 1 by 60 patients. Goal: Increase total mental health patients served at UNHS health centers in Year 2 by 90 patients. Goal: Increase total number of patients receiving SUD services including patients receiving treatment with MOUD by 75 patients in Year 1. Goal: Increase total number of patients receiving SUD services including patients receiving treatment with MOUD by 90 patients in Year 2.
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).