Tuesday, April 29, 2025
4/29/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - The Brevard Health Alliance (BHA) is Brevard County’s only Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and has provided primary care services including behavioral health to the vulnerable and underserved communities for Brevard County since March 2005 by providing over 1,000,000 medical, dental, behavioral health, and enabling encounters. Reported in the 2023 UDS Report, BHA served 59,718 unique patients; 47,801 (or 80%) of the total patients with known incomes are 200% and below the Federal Poverty Guideline. This compares to 24.4% of individuals in Brevard that live in households with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level as reported by Florida Health Charts in 2022. According to Brevard County’s 2022 Community Needs Assessment, the area’s top barriers include trouble getting an appointment (34.3% vs. 14.5% in the U.S.), trouble finding a doctor (25.6% vs. 9.4% in the U.S.), cost of doctor visit (21.8% vs. 12.9% in the U.S.), cost of prescriptions (19.2% vs. 12.8% in the U.S.), inconvenient office hours (16% vs. 12.5% in the U.S.), lack of transportation (11% vs. 8.9% in the U.S.), and language/culture (2.3% vs. 2,8% in the U.S.). To reduce barriers and assist in addressing these needs, we provide primary and dental care; behavioral health, OB/GYN, pharmacy, specialty services, and enabling services throughout the county at twelve fixed sites and a mobile medical and dental unit. BHA also provides highly discounted care, extended office hours, free bus passes, and cost-savings through the 340B pharmacy program to BHA patients totaling more than $58.9 million since 2005. The health center currently participates in the Vaccines for Adults (VFA) and Vaccines for Children (VFC) programs; these programs provide vaccines for our uninsured and underinsured patients. Through BHA’s H80 grant (H80CS04213) BHA provides counseling services, medication assisted treatment, psychiatry, substance use disorder services, and other behavioral health services for the patients across Brevard County within the scope of service of behavioral health. According to the most recent data in 2019, 22% of adults in Brevard County at one point have been diagnosed with a depressive disorder, over 18,000 people took their lives between 2019-2021, and in 2022 Brevard County recorded over 27,000 drug overdoses (fatal and nonfatal). By using grant funds to support the salaries of providers who provide mental health services as well as substance use disorder services and medication assisted treatment programs, BHA will be able to increase the number of patients receiving these services and programs. As the only Federally Qualified Health Center in Brevard County and oftentimes serving as the first point of access for any health care need, BHA is well-positioned to expand mental health and substance use disorder services to those who need it most in the community.
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).