FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Community Health & Wellness Partners of Logan County (CHWP) is a Federally Qualified Community Health Center serving over 12,000 patients within Ohio’s Logan and Champaign Counties. CHWP is committed to providing a whole person, whole community approach to healthcare through its integration of primary care, behavioral health, medication-assisted treatment, pharmacy, nutrition, and chronic care management. CHWP listens to the desires and needs of the community through a community health needs assessment (CHNA) process. In the 2023 CHNA, 84% of residents felt there were not enough substance use disorder (SUD) services available. Similarly, 77% of residents believed mental health needs are not adequately addressed by services currently available and access to care was the second largest health-related issue noted. Also, over half of residents felt accessible transportation, access to food, healthcare, insurance, paying for utilities, and employment were also highly rated areas of concern in the community. These needs worsened in March 2024, when the most vulnerable area of our community was devastatingly hit by an F3 tornado. CHWP intends to address the above needs through the Behavioral Health Service Expansion funding opportunity. This funding would be utilized to increase the number of patients receiving SUD services, including treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) by eliminating barriers within CHWP’s Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program. This funding would allow CHWP to hire Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistants (CDCAs) to increase MAT enrollment over the current process in which SUD therapists complete assessments. The current process does not ensure timely entry into the MAT program, delaying care, due to limited SUD therapy availability. Furthermore, CDCAs will be integrated into patients’ MAT appointments providing SUD interventions and addressing social risk factors such as housing, food insecurity, transportation, employment, etc. CHWP also intends to utilize CDCAs to reduce the financial burden of their underinsured/uninsured population by providing alternative therapy options offered in conjunction with primary care services allowing patients to access BH services at a more affordable price per session. Integrating therapy into MAT appointments will also reduce stigma and the burden of separate appointments, further supporting patients’ growth in vocational and familial responsibilities and ultimately supporting sobriety. Children enrolled in school are another underserved population in Logan and Champaign counties. Four districts have integrated CHWP health centers within their schools. Each of the districts has requested additional services to address student needs such as substance use and mental health support groups that focus on increasing coping skills, emotional regulation, and healthy relationships. One district reported that they had 16 cannabis-related suspensions that led to expulsion hearings, accounting for 73% of the school’s suspensions this year. Cannabis has been an issue with students as young as 6th grade in this district. In the most recent student survey, the district saw a 2% increase in the use of alcohol and drugs among tenth-grade students. CHWP intends to use CDCAs to provide evidence-based SUD groups and hire additional Licensed Social Workers to support the mental health needs of this population through group work. Lastly, CHWP intends to use these grant funds to expand the current behavioral health workforce and, in turn, increase the number of patients receiving mental health and SUD services. CHWP is currently limited by available office space and building expansion is needed to hire additional behavioral health staff for services to be increased. With this funding, additional office space would be developed at our site with the highest need for additional behavioral health care, Bellefontaine Community Health Center.
