FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Belington Community Medical Services Association (BCMSA) (HRSA Grant # H80CS12878) has been providing comprehensive primary care and supplemental health care services for more than 50 years, and currently operates three full time primary care service delivery sites and also provides school-based health services. The health center’s service area includes 26 zip codes in Barbour, Randolph, Upshur, Taylor and Harrison Counties, West Virginia, with a total service area population of 89,227. Among all service area residents, 36.1% have incomes below 200% of Federal Poverty Guidelines, and 6.1% are uninsured. Numerous Federal designations are found throughout the service area, including those related to behavioral health services, indicating significant unmet need and/or lack of adequate health care resources. In 2022, the percentage of need for mental health professional met in West Virginia was only 13.0%, compared to 27.7% nationally. The mission of Belington Community Medical Services Association is to offer quality, affordable health and wellness services to all who need them. In 2023, the health center served 10,614 patients with 40,883 visits (40,012 clinic visits; 871 virtual visits) for all services, and served 548 patients with 4,937 visits for behavioral health, including substance use disorder. Services were provided by 3.0 FTE Licensed Clinical Psychologists, 1.0 FTE Licensed Clinical Social Worker, 4.5 FTE Other Licensed Mental Health Providers, 4.5 FTE Other Mental Health Staff, and 1.0 FTE Substance Use Disorder Providers. The health center’s patient population and the service area population both experience significant prevalence of behavioral health and substance use disorder conditions, including those related to anxiety, depression, suicide, tobacco, alcohol, prescription drugs and illicit drugs. For the period of 2011 to 2021, West Virginia remained the state with the highest overdose death rates, rising from 31.5 per 100,000 people in 2011 to 77.2 per 100,000 people in 2021. BCMSA’s proposed behavioral health service expansion project will increase the number of patients receiving mental health services by providing training in integrated primary care practice; supporting a school-based therapist in service area elementary schools; developing group therapy sessions developing student training to assist with the provision of assessment services; and, providing training in cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain to compliment pain management interventions by health center medical staff. BCMSA’s proposed behavioral health service expansion project with increase the number of patients receiving substance use disorder services, including patients receiving treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). These behavioral health conditions and needs among the health center’s patient population and service area population demonstrate a critical need for accessible comprehensive behavioral health services, coupled with appropriate enabling services to reduce/eliminate barriers to accessing services and to ensure the patient and service area population are aware of available services and how to access them. BCMSA’s service delivery model is specifically designed to address these needs, resulting in improved patient health outcomes and overall improved community health status. BCMSA provides comprehensive primary care services, including preventive and supplemental services to address the unmet health care needs of the service area population. Enabling services including outreach, eligibility assistance, case management, health education and transportation are also provided to reduce/eliminate barriers to accessing critically needed health care services.
