Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Southwest Colorado Mental Health Center Inc., d.b.a. Axis Health System (Axis), a 501(c)(3) incorporated in 1959, has served as a HRSA-supported Community Health Center, grant number H8026510, since 2013 and delivers services in highly rural southwest Colorado. Axis requests funding to improve behavioral health (BH) access, treatment, and outcomes by creating new pathways to engage adults, especially hard-to-reach adults, through community-based outreach and early interventions and enhanced in-clinic care for both mental health and substance use disorders (SUD). This increase in patients receiving mental health and SUD services will be accomplished by creating a new team of three BH therapists and a case manager focusing on identified populations in the community, expanding training in evidence-based practices, and adding group treatment as a new effective treatment modality. Specifically, for substance use, Axis will enhance access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) through our four pharmacies and incorporate pharmacists into the care team. Access to behavioral health services is critical in rural southwest Colorado. Residents face many barriers that impair their ability to receive care, including fewer resources, longer distances, greater stigma, limited availability of outpatient behavioral healthcare, workforce shortages, cultural values of independence and privacy, and limited internet access. These barriers to care affect all southwest rural populations, especially older adults and the agricultural community, which are a particular focus of this project. According to recent findings, older adults in rural communities had a 57.4% increase in MH diagnoses among those aged 65 and older, coupled with a nearly 36% rise in adults ages 51 to 64. Nearly 15% of older adults in rural regions experience depression, surpassing their urban counterparts at 11%, while lack of access to comprehensive mental health services affects approximately 1 in 4 rural older adults. The isolated agricultural community also faces a daunting mental health and substance use crisis due to the stress, financial instability, and unpredictable environmental demands of farming and ranching. Suicide rates have been rising faster in rural America, increasing by 46% in rural counties compared with 27% in urban areas. A deeply ingrained stigma associated with seeking help for BH issues reflects a part of the rural culture. These challenges and lack of access impact both community health and resilience and indicate the significant need for expanded access to BH services. Axis will increase the entry points to care by expanding home-based visits, telehealth, and community-based services and leveraging in-clinic integrated BH/primary care services to significantly increase the number of patients receiving MH and SUD care. Outreach and community referral training will also increase access. Additionally, Axis will expand our pharmacy’s role in administering MOUD and offer patient education and resources to support patients’ consistent engagement in their treatment plans. Evidence-based training will increase MH and SUD service offerings that are more responsive to the population’s needs. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can be delivered individually and in groups and addresses a variety of MH and SUD issues as well as BH aspects of chronic medical conditions. Axis will leverage the best practices of Senior Reach to address MH and SUD treatment with older adults in community-based settings. The broad spectrum of community-based services Axis will provide, including evidence-based interventions, wellness coaching, counseling, and care management referrals, ensures all adults have access to the BH care they need.
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).