Thursday, May 15, 2025
5/15/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Background: East Central Missouri Behavioral Health Services, Inc. d/b/a Arthur Center Community Health is a federally designated Community Health Center in rural central Missouri. The health center’s primary location is at 340 Kelly Parkway in Mexico, MO, offering primary medical, behavioral health, and dental care. Arthur Center also operates a primary care location in Montgomery City, MO, and a behavioral health care office in Fulton, MO. Arthur Center offers a continuum of behavioral health services through the Arthur Center Hope Center, a 16-bed residential facility in Mexico, MO. The center offers an 18-month program for those encountering barriers to reintegration as they transition from Fulton State Psychiatric Hospital back into the community. Arthur Center further supports reintegration through Abat Street Place, which provides community housing for adults with mental health needs. Needs to be Addressed: Mental health and substance use disorders affect people in all walks of life at all income levels. However, those hardest hit are people without the financial resources to provide access to treatment services and other social supports to build resilience. In rural Missouri, pervasive stigma, long driving distances, and lack of sufficient behavioral health services prevent many from seeking help for stress, anxiety, and depression, which may lead to substance misuse and relapse. The Missouri Rural Health Association reports that overdose, suicide, and mental health needs are growing in the state, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health reports that the state is facing an opioid public health crisis of epic proportions. The current wait time for mental health or SUD treatment services is 54 days from the intake to the first therapy or medication service, which causes many to miss their first treatment appointment. Target Population: Arthur Center serves the uninsured, underinsured, and underserved residents of Audrain, Callaway, and Montgomery Counties in Missouri. Proposed Services: The health center will use HRSA-240-078 grant funds to expand mental health, substance use disorder services, and medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Arthur Center provides open access to behavioral health services at its 340 Kelley Pkwy, Mexico, MO, location. It will use grant funds to expand the open access model to its 581 Commons Drive in Fulton, MO. Grant funds will support hiring additional licensed mental health professionals to provide screening and assessment and an outreach and enrollment specialist to assist with processing the new clients and providing information about health insurance options. A Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner will provide urgent care at the 340 Kelley Parkway site to provide same-day care to at least half of those seeking care to reduce the time from intake to first service to 10 days or less. A family nurse practitioner will be available at least one day per week to provide medication assisted treatment at the health center’s 581 Commons Drive, Fulton, MO location and at 1225 Aguilar Drive, Montgomery City, MO. A certified peer specialist will assist with engaging area residents in treatment. In addition, the health center will purchase a 15-passenger van in Year 1 to facilitate transportation as there is no public transportation in Montgomery and only limited public transportation in Callaway County. Through Behavioral Health Service Expansion funding, Arthur Center will expand SUD services to 250 patients, mental health services to 450 patients, and MOUD to 70 patients for a total of 770 additional patients by the end of the two-year grant period.
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).