FY 2024 behavioral health service expansion - project title: asher CHC behavioral health program asher community health center (ACHC) serves one of the poorest counties, wheeler county, as well as one…

FY 2024 behavioral health service expansion - project title: asher CHC behavioral health program asher community health center (ACHC) serves one of the poorest counties, wheeler county, as well as one of the most rural/frontier regions in oregon with 20.2% of individuals living in poverty (less than 100% FPL). Healthcare services are quite limited in the area with little integrated behavioral care, no hospital, and no specialty medical providers in the 1,718 square mile service area. The ratio of residents to mental health providers averages 1.15 per 1,000 in oregon, but in the service is 0.00 (oregon office of rural health 2023). Additionally, the ratio of all bordering service areas ranges from 0.00 only to 0.42. Too often, residents need to travel for hours to reach mental health care. Asher community health centers is the sole provider of primary medical care, dental services, and pharmacy services in the service area/county. About 25% of ACHC's medical patients have an identified mental health and/or substance use disorder diagnosis. However, because most of these individuals do not meet the criteria of severe and persistent mental illness and/or chronic substance use disorder, they are largely ineligible to access the services provided by the local certified behavioral health provider. Because of this situation, asher CHC patients are left without the necessary services to minimize their behavioral health disorder from becoming severe and persistent. The goal of the project will be for asher community health centers to establish a full-time behavioral health services program to provide the necessary preventive and therapeutic services to help address the behavioral health needs of its patients and service area. This behavioral health services program will consist of a full-time behavioral health therapist/provider. The BH provider (BHP) will conduct behavioral assessments that will assess for both mental health and substance use disorders. In addition, the BHP will develop treatment P lans, and provide behavioral health for individuals, family, or group counseling as clinically necessary. The behavioral provider, along with clinic staff will help develop behavioral prevention strategies to help educate patients and the community at large. The program will consist of psychiatric consultation services with a contracted psychiatric provider, most likely provided remotely through telehealth. These patient-facing services will consist of psychiatric evaluation and psychiatric medication management. In addition, psychiatric consultation will include asynchronous and real-time consultations with our primary care providers. Our program will also consist of behavioral case management services provided by medical assistants and/or community health worker. The case management services will help address obstacles in areas of daily living that may be contributing to behavioral health problems. In addition, behavioral health case management services will also help facilitate access to higher levels of behavioral health care services if necessary. Asher CHC 'S primary care providers will receive training to provide medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) through medication assisted treatment and motivational interviewing. All services provided through this funding will be for any age and target ACHC patients (currently numbering 1052) and target population which is predominantly low-income (27% of existing patients and 50% of service area residents (200% FPL)). The requested funding of $500,000 in year one and $500,000 in year two will dramatically increase the number of residents receiving mental health services, SUD treatment, and MOUD treatment.