Thursday, April 10, 2025
4/10/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Project Title: FY 24 Behavioral Health Services Expansion (HRSA-24-078) Applicant Organization Name: Universal Community Health Center Grant Number: H80CS30722 Project Director Name: Dr. Edgar Chavez, Chief Executive Officer/HRSA Project Director Brief Description of the Proposed Project: Dr. Edgar Chavez and a group of local leaders founded Universal Community Health Center (UCHC) in 2009, recognizing the need for affordable medical care for low-income individuals and families. In 2017, UCHC was designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), and more recently, was recognized as a Patient Centered Medical Home. UCHC provides a comprehensive range of primary care, behavioral health, and oral health, including health screenings, family planning, gynecological care, and well-child visit for the community across all age groups. These primary and specialty healthcare services address an unmet need in South Los Angeles, which is a culturally rich and diverse area, but also an area with one of the largest concentrations of poverty in the United States. The UCHC service area comprises 25 ZIP codes in South, Southeast, Southwest, and East Los Angeles County, and includes portions of the city of Los Angeles, and all or portions of the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, and Maywood, part of the city of Monterey Park and the unincorporated neighborhoods of East Los Angeles (90022), Florence-Graham, and Willowbrook. UCHC operates seven fixed health center locations and two mobile clinics. Through the FY24 Behavioral Health Services Expansion (BHSE) initiative, UCHC will increase the number of patients receiving mental health (MH) services and increase the number of patients receiving substance use disorder (SUD) services, including patients receiving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). We will focus our efforts on serving low-income, uninsured adults and children with a behavioral health (BH) diagnosis. With funding, UCHC will start providing BH services at its San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, location – and expand access to BH services at all UCHC’s other locations. BH staff will receive training to further their education in support of the population served. UCHC will allocate new and existing staff to the initiative, and will use funds to support EHR licenses, EHR upgrades, and staff recruitment and incentive opportunities. As illustrated in our 2023 Uniform Data System (UDS) report, UCHC provided MH services to 591 patients in 2,419 visits (21 clinic visits and 2,398 virtual visits). We had 197 (alcohol related, other substance-related, and tobacco use) disorders, and 4 patients who received medications for opioid use disorders (MOUD) disorder during the reporting period. UCHC is a trusted community medical home and therefore is well positioned to address the gaps in BH access and care. Per our current Form 5A: Services Provided, UCHC currently has Mental Health Services in Columns I and III. Upon award, UCHC will submit a Change in Scope to add SUD services to Column I. We will be prepared to submit the Change in Scope within the first 30 days of award, so that once it goes to scope verification, we will be ready to add the service to scope once we hire an SUD provider to start providing SUD services.
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).