FY 2024 behavioral health service expansion - anderson valley health center (avhc), a non-profit, federally qualified community health center, established 45 years ago to serve southwest mendocino…

FY 2024 behavioral health service expansion - anderson valley health center (avhc), a non-profit, federally qualified community health center, established 45 years ago to serve southwest mendocino county, california, is requesting $600,000 in year 1 and $500,000 in year 2 through the FY24 behavioral health service expansion grant. Avhc will expand access to behavioral health (BH) and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for the low-income, general community population and migrant and seasonal farmworkers (msfw) throughout its existing service area of anderson valley in southwestern mendocino county. The target population experiences limited access to culturally appropriate services due to living in a geographically isolated and impoverished rural and frontier area. In line with the president's strategy to address the national mental health crisis, avhc proposes to strengthen our organizational capacity to respond to both SUD and MH needs. Avhc will respond to SUD needs by training two bilingual social worker associates, a community health outreach worker (CHW) and a pharmacist in SUD screening, outreach and treatment. Increasing access to treatment will provide culturally appropriate options for peer counseling, medication management and counseling and targeted individual counseling for SUD disorders. Avhc will use its strong partnerships with the local AV middle, high and adult schools, the ukiah adventist hospital's ER discharge team, the safe RX coalition, and the mendocino county aids and viral hepatitis network to identify new patients, including youth, in need of SUD services. Avhc has an MD certified in addiction medicine and a psychiatric nurse practitioner who will provide care for newly identified SUD patients. Additionally, avhc has identified a need for additional treatment options for mental health (MH) services. Avhc saw a large jump following the covid-19 pandemic in the number of patients experiencing anxiety and other MH disorders. Avhc began screening using the GAD-7 last year, and will continue to improve screening for MH disorders. Avhc will increase access to MH care for all patients, and in particular, will expand access to youth and spanish speaking patients. Avhc will use its bilingual CHW to conduct outreach and increase understanding in the community of MH signs and symptoms and options for treatment. Avhc will expand MH support through better integration of the BH department using its existing two bilingual asws and medical providers to collaborate on patient care plans. Avhc will increase medication management for complex MH needs through its psychiatric nurse practitioner. Finally, through our strong relationship with the schools, avhc will introduce awareness and education of MH signs and symptoms and suicide prevention through an existing group of teen representatives who are currently providing peer-to-peer education about our teen reproductive health services. Avhc will add 115 new patients in MH services, 90 new patients in SUD services, and 45 new patients in moud services. This includes 30 migrant and seasonal farm workers.