Tuesday, June 17, 2025
6/17/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Summit Community Care Clinic (Care Clinic) is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) (Health Center Program grant # H80CS28361) based in Frisco, CO, 75 miles west of the Denver metropolitan area. The Care Clinic has facilities in three rural and rural resort counties (Summit, Lake, Park) in Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains, through which it provides integrated medical, dental, and behavioral health services for individuals and families who experience economic challenges, cultural and linguistic barriers, and lack of health insurance among other barriers to care. The mission of Summit Community Care Clinic is to provide exceptional, integrated patient-centered care that is available to all. The Care Clinic’s patient population is largely comprised of the uninsured working poor, with employment in the low-paying, seasonal resort sector. In 2023, 53.4% of patients had no insurance (the highest rate since 2016), as Medicaid coverage dipped to 20.9%. More than 53% of patients live at or below 200% FPL. Approximately 40% of patients are Hispanic and approximately 38.2% speak Spanish as their primary language. In 2023, 938 patients received Mental Health services and 389 received SUD services at the Care Clinic. Given the remote nature of the service area, access to care is a pressing concern. The proposed project will build upon and expand the Care Clinic’s existing Behavioral Health (BH) and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) services to address the pressing need for increased access to coordinated mental health and SUD services. BH and SUD continue to be identified as top concerns in community health assessments and priorities for community action in all three counties given rates of depression, suicidality and/or substance abuse in each of the counties served that exceed state rates. Social factors, ranging from the isolated, rural nature of much of the service area to the rural resort environment of Summit County, create unique challenges that affect substance abuse utilization and access to mental health services. All three counties are Health Provider Shortage Areas (HPSAs) for mental health. Several new BH resources now exist in the service area (e.g. shared law enforcement/BH response and stigma reduction efforts); however, new resources have also increased fragmentation, potentially confusing clients about access to services. The Care Clinic will prioritize four areas of services, including: 1) Increasing community partner engagement and collaboration via marketing, outreach and MOUs to support improved referral pathways and access to care; 2) Improving SUD service delivery via increased Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) staffing, medical provider training on MOUD, and improved engagement of patients in the MAT program; 3) Improved Medical and BH Integration via training, systemic improvements, and recruitment of a bilingual BH provider; and 4) Improved access to mental health services via productivity improvements including EMR improvements and improved workflows. The number of patients receiving mental health services will be increased through referrals from community partners, increased access to care as a result of productivity improvements (e.g. schedule improvements, decreased administrative time required in the EMR), and increased community outreach. The number of patients receiving SUD services, including patients receiving treatment with MOUD, will be increased through referrals from community partners, increased MOUD training of medical providers, increased LAC staffing, and increased community outreach related to MAT services.
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).