Saturday, April 5, 2025
4/5/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Project Director Name: Ellen Vance, CEO Contact Phone Number: 606-487-9505 or Fax: 606-436-0071 Contact Email Address: ellen@kymha.org Website: https://www.kymha.com Health Center Program Grant Number: H80CS07772 Address: 279 E Main St., Hazard, KY 41701 Kentucky Mountain Health Alliance, Inc. (KMHA) was established in 2005 by a group of community healthcare and social service partners who had a similar mission to create a healthcare safety net for the underserved or at-risk for homelessness population. KMHA has been operating the Perry County Healthcare for the Homeless (HCH) Program since 2006, offering services at one permanent site location, Little Flower Clinic. In 2022, KMHA served a total of 2,952 unduplicated patients. Over 90% of the patient population is White and a majority of patients live in the rural community. Approximately 41% of the KMHA patients are uninsured. KMHA, with the recent partnership with Quantum Healthcare Associates (a local Rural Health Clinic), now operates 2 sites plus the mobile medical unit to provide care to populations experiencing social determinants of health (SDOH). In 2023, KMHA served a total of 11,238 unduplicated patients across both sites. The service area is home to nearly 77,000 persons, 41,000 which are low-income. KMHA’s robust behavioral health and substance use disorder program, provided directly through the FQHC, provides various support for a rural community that is greatly impacted by high rates of mental health conditions and substance use disorder. KMHA MAT prescribers prescribe Schedule III, IV, and V controlled substances and FDA-approved medications to treat patients during medically supervised opioid withdrawal or OUD maintenance treatment. Referrals for the program are accepted from a variety of sources including primary care prescribers, needle syringe exchange programs, hospital emergency rooms, inpatient units, jails, drug court and self-referrals. Before leaving the clinic, each patient receives education on overdose prevention and a prescription for naloxone. KMHA requires active patients to complete mental health and substance use disorder counseling at least two times per month. As part of a comprehensive approach to reducing risk for people struggling with opioid abuse, KMHA has increased awareness of the appropriate use of vivitrol through patient, family, community, and personnel training. The Health Center has joined the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with mental illness. KMHA has a handicapped accessible van and operates a full-serve mobile unit to facilitate patient access in Perry County, Kentucky to substance use disorder and mental health services. Project activities include: - Leveraging community partnerships to better serve underserved populations (those involved in the criminal justice system, who are uninsured, who are homeless); - Integrating primary care and behavioral health, conducting assessments and connecting clients with Peer Support Specialists to expand access to supportive services; - Go beyond providing medical care by addressing social drivers of health through community collaborations (housing insecurity, food insecurity, financial strain); - Expand the role of primary care providers in the use of FDA-approved medications for treatment of opioid use disorder through training and education; - Hire additional behavioral health staff to expand access, meet the growing demand; - Broaden the use of mobile services across KMHA sites. Program goals to be achieved via the project activities listed above include: - Increase the number of patients receiving mental health services; and - Increase the number of patients receiving SUD services, including treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
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).