Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - With BHSE funding, Opsam Health will implement a two-year project to significantly increase access to behavioral health services, including access to SUD and MOUD services, within the Opsam service area. The project will include funding in Year 1 dedicated to the creation of FOUR ADDITIONAL behavioral health SERVICE ROOMS, which will occupy the ENTIRE first floor of the clinic’s original service location in National City. The clinic owns the building that will be renovated, so the “Minor A/R” phase of our project is “SHOVEL READY,” and the Opsam team is eager to meet the rapidly increasing demand for behavioral health services that began in 2020—with the arrival of the Covid-19 health crisis—and which has never abated within our service area. Permitting and bidding processes will commence immediately upon receipt of funding and HRSA's approval of our re-addition of 2813 Highland Ave. to our scope of service sites. Additional Year 1 and Year 2 funding that will initiate and then complete a much-needed SERVICE EXPANSION, supported by thoughtful addition of staff FTEs within behavioral health. This will include: 4 ADDITIONAL hours of Psychiatry per month in Year 1, and 5 additional hours of Psychiatry in Year 2; .5 FTE of a NEW Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in Year 1—which will ramp up to .8 FTE (four days per week) in Year 2 ; a much-needed NEW position within our system of care—a full FTE of a Substance Use Counselor and Care Coordinator in both Years 1 and 2; a NEW FTE to support an additional Therapist in both Years 1 and 2; and a NEW full-time (1 FTE) Behavioral Health Medical Assistant, who will be added to our care continuum in Year 2 to support our increasing patient load and additional total hours of Psychiatry within the Opsam system of care. San Diego County has a highly structured behavioral health continuum of care, with highly defined roles regarding the services and care levels provided at agencies throughout the region. (E.g., our FQHCs serve low to medium-level needs of SUD and MOUD clients, typically involving referrals and warm handoffs both to and back from “medium to high” need-serving agencies, as indicated by client need). The new positions funded by HRSA will enable Opsam to move from a “low-medium” to a “low to medium-high” set of services for SUD clients and those supported by MOUD (MAT). This will improve both access to care, and the efficacy of care coordination in our nation’s third-largest county. Opsam’s Behavioral Health Director, John Laidlaw, LMFT, was previously employed by our County Mental Health Services department and serves on several regional committees. He is ideally situated to integrate the work funded by this proposal with San Diego’s uniquely coordinated system of care. Because Opsam is starting with UDS statistics of “0” for both the SUD and MOUD measures, we respectfully request the bonus points available to applicants seeking to produce meaningful improvements among SUD/MOUD clients. We note that our application will serve many individuals who live within the geography of a federally designated Promise Zone (the San Diego Promise Zone), and additionally request whatever statutory “priority points” that HRSA may elect to award to grant proposals serving Promise Zone geographies. This site is also in a federal Opportunity Zone, which may further qualify the application for prioritization points, which we request if they are available.
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).