Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - the behavioral health integration & guidance (bhig) initiative - formerly the pediatric mental health innovation center -…

Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - the behavioral health integration & guidance (bhig) initiative - formerly the pediatric mental health innovation center - is an innovative and collaborative approach led by children's health in partnership with meadows mental health policy institute that will help pediatricians across north texas integrate mental health screening and services into primary care practice. This new model leverages the pediatric primary care setting to identify and address pediatric mental health conditions at earlier stages when symptoms are less severe and more treatable. A component of the initiative is establishing a new primary care clinic and learning lab at the reimagine redbird project in southern dallas county, one of the area's most at-risk communities, for pediatric patients with complex behavioral health issues. This facility will provide hands-on training opportunities for pediatricians and clinicians while demonstrating effective ways to integrate a mental health assessment and care into each primary care visit. Not only will this offer in-person training experience for area pediatricians and clinicians, but IT will also bring care closer to home for a high-need pediatric population. Current projections of the bhig initiative estimate about 75-100 providers per year will participate, potentially reaching 50,000 more children each successive year of the project. Its successes have the potential to be replicated across the state of texas and beyond, helping to address the growing and complex pediatric mental health crisis. Children's health is requesting $850,000 in federal funding to support equipment costs for the build-out of the new bhig clinic and learning lab at reimagine redbird. This funding will allow for the procurement of moveable office equipment, including furnishings, as well as information technology and telephony equipment for the clinic. The result will be a functional space that includes three medical exam rooms and offices for child psychiatrists and primary care providers, offices for psychologists and master's level licensed behavioral health clinicians, two play therapy rooms and observation rooms, administrative space for an office manager and check-in desk, a quiet room for patients requiring private protected space, and a conference/training room for community providers to attend in-person training sessions.