FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Project Title: FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion at Pinellas County, Florida Applicant Name: Community Health Centers of Pinellas, Inc. DBA Evara Health Address: 14100 58th St. N., Clearwater, FL 33760 Congressional District: FL-013 Project Director Name: Elodie Dorso, CEO Contact Phone Numbers: Phone: 727-824-8100; Fax: 727-895-3762 E-Mail Address: edorso@hcnetwork.org Website Address: https://evarahealth.org Grant Program Funding Request: $1,100,000 Health Center Program Grant Number: HRSA-24-078 Community Health Centers of Pinellas, Inc., doing business as Evara Health (Evara), is a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center that has been delivering affordable primary health care services to residents of Pinellas County, Florida for over 40 years. Evara operates 19 health centers, including three mobile units, throughout Pinellas County. It provides comprehensive healthcare services such as medical, dental, behavioral health, OB/GYN, pharmacy, podiatry, nutrition, chiropractic, and enabling services to low-income, uninsured, and underserved populations. In 2023, Evara served 60,832 individual patients across nearly 224,000 visits. 88% of Evara's patients are low-income (at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)), 76% live in poverty (100% of the FPL), 63% are racial/ethnic minorities, 26% are Hispanic/Latino, 50% are underinsured (Medicaid/CHIP), 22% are uninsured, and 18% are best served in a language other than English. Evara is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care and the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Evara’s current Behavioral Health (BH) program includes mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services. Evara screens patients at every visit using the PHQ 2/9, the SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) tool, and domestic violence screening. In 2023, Evara began providing treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Since 2019, Evara has been a key partner in the Pinellas County Children's Mental Health Initiative, a strategic blueprint for establishing an accessible, family-centric, coordinated, comprehensive, and high-quality system of care for children and families across the county. Evara Health proposes a significant expansion of the BH services, including the establishment of three designated BH Hubs; the addition of three full-time BH Therapists; an increase in the number of providers conducting MOUD services, and an expansion of BH care offered via telehealth. Additionally, the proposed project seeks to assist patients in addressing their health-related social needs. Among the key elements of the proposed program are collaborations with Pinellas County Government, Florida’s leading provider in addiction recovery (Operation PAR), and the Florida Department of Health. The objectives of the proposed project are: 1) to increase the number of patients receiving mental health services at Evara by 20% (1,196 individual patients); 2) to increase the number of patients receiving SUD services at Evara by 20%, including MOUD. The proposed BHSE project plan also includes substantial investment in the development of a dedicated behavioral health workforce, creating a well-structured program aimed at achieving the project’s objectives by December 31, 2025.
