Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program - Applicant: Albany Area Primary Health Care Eligible Entity Type: Federally Qualified Health Center Project Director/Contact: TBD Proposed Residency Type: Psychiatry Residency Program Funding Preference Statement: YES – AHEC Partnership Population Target Area(s): Albany, Georgia Funding Amount Requested: $500,000 Projected Number of Residents: 16 residents, 4-4-4-4 Anticipated ACGME Accreditation Date: May, 2024 Anticipated Residency Matriculation Date: July 1, 2025 Serving the Southwest Georgia community since 1979, and as the region's largest Community Health Center, Albany Area Primary Health Care (AAPHC) ensures that every resident of Southwest Georgia has access to the highest quality of care and an exceptional patient experience. It is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that provides patients with access to specialties, including internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, podiatry, general dentistry, vision care, behavioral health, and pharmacy services. Over 1.8 million (17.5 percent) of Georgia adults reported a mental illness in 2019-2020. Of course, mental health conditions are often underdiagnosed and undertreated, making the scope of mental illness even broader. Still, over 140,000 adults received a mental health diagnosis in Georgia in 2020. Availability for more consistent therapeutic services is likewise and consequently negatively affected. Limitations and caps on coverage provide still additional barriers to service. The proposed community-based psychiatry residency program would jumpstart a system-level change, one that unites learning and practice with those who need its benefits in a reasonable timeframe. The purpose of the proposed project is to establish a new and sustainable Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) 4-4-4-4 community-based psychiatry residency program that will prioritize providing in-person services, and expand telemedicine (telemed), for Baker, Calhoun, Crisp, Colquitt, Dooly, Dougherty, Lee, Sumter, Thomas, and Terrell counties in Georgia. The goals of AAPHC include providing interprofessional training specific to the needs of the community; aiming to decrease health care disparities; and addressing the workforce shortage specific to Teaching Health Center residency programs and the specified service area. The mental health of many has been deeply impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Georgia’s mental health crisis hotline experiencing a 24 percent increase in calls, texts, and chats since the pandemic began, while mental health screenings increased by 426 percent. The proposed community-based psychiatry residency program would empower AAPHC to promptly connect individuals at risk with appropriately skilled and caring individuals.
