Friday, May 9, 2025
5/9/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center 120 Health Center Drive, Ahoskie, NC 27910-8161 Project Director: Stephanie Wroten, CEO Phone: 252-209-0237 swroten@rcchc.org www.rcchc.org Grant funds requested: $600,000 Year 1; $500,000 Year 2 Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center, Inc. (RCCHC), an FQHC Look-Alike since 2005 and a fully funded 330 grantee since 2007, is dedicated to improving access to care and addressing the unmet health care needs of the residents of a five county area including Bertie, Gates, Hertford, Northampton and Washington counties in northeastern North Carolina. The target population for RCCHC includes all residents in the service area with incomes below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, all residents who are uninsured and underinsured, along with all seasonal agricultural workers living or working in the five county area. RCCHC operates 5 clinical sites and a mobile unit developing integrated medical and behavioral health care, and a school based student health center to provide behavioral health services and health education and prevention services to students in Hertford County Schools. RCCHC has operated school based student health services in Hertford County Schools (HCS) since 2013. The need to advance development for mental health access is noted in data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, 2023, showing, when surveyed in May of 2022, adults in North Carolina reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder, 18.3% reported needing counseling or therapy, but were unable to receive this care in the four weeks preceding the survey. Additionally, per the CDC, the North Carolina suicide death rate by firearms exceed the national average at 8.2 per 100,000 versus the United States average at 7.5 per 100,000. Currently, North Carolina is ranked 42 out of the 50 United States for lowest access to mental health services for youth. RCCHC proposes to develop and upgrade mental health/substance use disorder services for all sites of services, school based services and mobile unit services for both children and adults. RCCHC proposes the expansion of behavioral health staff to continue the model of an integrated Patient Centered Medical Home offering a team care approach. The hiring proposal includes adding: 1. A doctoral psychologist to screen both adults and children for complex mental health diagnoses, Intellectual and Developmental Delays, and Learning Disorders. 2. A psychiatrist for consultation and medication initiation, stabilization to integrate with the primary care clinics. 3. An additional Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist to improve access to all sites and the mobile unit. 4. A tele-mental health nursing assistant to assist with patient engagement and access. RCCHC proposes an expansion with capital improvements to include an embedded tele-mental health clinic within a local low income housing development. The building in existence only requires refitting to meet mental health outpatient care requirements for both privacy and security. RCCHC proposes 3 mobile tele-mental health units to embed within the (1) mobile care unit, (2) school based location, and (3) the Murfreesboro site of service. RCCHC proposes funds to offer mental health trainings for all clinical staff; and screenings and trainings for patients and families within our communities which will include firearms safety and suicide prevention. RCCHC will continue to monitor meaningful use dashboards and clinical quality indicators and tracks results over time by reporting measurements as established by our Quality Improvement Committee on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annual basis for the goals of access and services offered.
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).