Citizen advocates, INC. 2020 ccbhc expansion - massena, NY clinic - citizen advocates, INC.'S ccbhc - massena clinic, will provide 24/7 behavioral health supports to individuals with mental illness…

Citizen advocates, INC. 2020 ccbhc expansion - massena, NY clinic - citizen advocates, INC.'S ccbhc - massena clinic, will provide 24/7 behavioral health supports to individuals with mental illness and substance abuse disorders, as well as those with CO-occurring conditions, including with physical health. The provision of integrated and comprehensive services to the largest county in new york state, ST. Lawrence county, will improve suicide and drug overdose rates and will ensure that community members have the tools available to thrive. The ST. Lawrence county mental health (MH) and substance abuse population suffers with access to medication assisted treatment (mat), high suicide and overdose rates, timely access to MH services, a high prevalence of obesity, and a lack of providers. To combat this, citizen advocates, INC. (CA), in collaboration with the community opened a new behavioral health clinic in massena, NY in april 2019. As an experienced ccbhc provider, CA can successfully convert this clinic to a ccbhc. This accomplishment would lead to additional services being provided to a large and vulnerable service area, including targeted case management, peer supports, psychiatric rehabilitation services, and increased clinical support, including mat. In addition, a program called inshape will be provided to individuals with physical health needs and goals. Inshape is a health promotion program for people with mental illness, which strives to improve physical health and quality of life, reduce the risk of preventable diseases, and lengthen the life expectancy of individuals with mental illness through physical activities and nutrition education. Throughout the project timeline of two years, the massena clinic will serve at least 1,200 unique individuals. IT is anticipated that following those years, numbers will continually rise due to unmet need in the county. The identified goals to be accomplished within ST. Lawrence county include the following: 1. Increase access and awareness of mat; 2. Increase the usage of and access to preventative behavioral healthcare and physical wellness treatments; 3. Improve adult suicide and drug overdose rates. These will be accomplished through meeting specific objectives including providing increased educational sessions within the county on the usage of mat, increasing the overall usage of mat, providing narcan training and certifying at least 50 community members, serving at least 1,200 unique patients, reducing behavioral health emergency room visits in the local hospital by at least 5%, providing the inshape program to increase physical wellness activities, opening the county's first 24/7 behavioral health urgent care (BHUC) providing ambulatory detox, clinical supports and respite, and by decreasing the reported incidents of drug overdoses at the CA massena clinic and 24/7 BHUC by 5% in year 1 and 10% in year 2. By providing the identified clinical and physical health interventions, and community-based supports, the massena clinic ccbhc will combat disease and improve quality of life for county residents.