FY 2024 behavioral health service expansion - project title: FY 2024 behavioral health service expansion (HRSA-24-078) applicant name: valley professionals community health center, INC

Address: 777 S main ST. STE 100 clinton, indiana 47842-2493 website: https://valleyprohealth.ORG health center program: H80CS08776 congressional district(S) for the applicant organization and proposed service area: in-008 requested award amount (per year): year 1: $600,000 year 2: $500,000 valley professionals community health center (VPCHC) is a rural community health center that operates eight year-round service delivery sites in a four-county area, including on-site school clinics that function as access points for students. VPCHC delivers a fully integrated model of primary care, behavioral health, psychiatry, addictions, dental, and other care-related services, providing rural, underserved communities with access to high-quality care and responding to significant healthcare needs of the service area. VPCHC's service area is located in west-central indiana, including montgomery, parke, vermillion, and vigo counties and surrounding areas. Each county of the service area is designated as a health professional shortage area (HPSA), mental health professional shortage area (MHPSA), and/or a medically underserved area/population (MUA/P), respectively. As a nationally recognized patient-centered medical home with carf accreditation, VPCHC works passionately to address the critical health needs in the service area. VPCHC aims to provide increased equitable access and patient-centered care, eliminating barriers for people with limited or no access to services. VPCHC has a 330-patient waitlist for those waiting to receive mental health and/or substance services, highlighting a significant GAP creating an access barrier for the served community. There is a high need for accessible behavioral health and substance use services in rural indiana due to a shortage of providers, large geographic distances, SOC IAL stigma, and financial/transportation barriers. The proposed project will allow VPCHC to address current gaps in care to further create access and expand behavioral health services, advancing delivery of mental health services and substance use disorder services, including treatment with medications for opioid use disorder. This will be accomplished by increasing the availability of appointments for mental health and substance use disorder treatment, decreasing wait for patient services, and expanding on-site school-based services for students. The project will be supported by hiring four full-time equivalent (FTE) behavioral health providers, one FTE psychiatry provider, one FTE behavioral health assistant, one FTE psychiatry nurse and two FTE case managers. Service expansion will offer increased therapy services at multiple VPCHC locations, increased psychiatry services for substance use disorder treatment, and expanded school-based therapy services for support of at-risk students. A psychiatric nurse, behavioral health assistant, and case managers will support care coordination, strengthen patient management quality, and maximize patient care and satisfaction. These expansions will allow VPCHC to optimize and increase the number of patients receiving mental health services and substance use disorder services, including treatment for opioid use disorder. The target population for this project is low-income, underserved rural and urban residents and students within VPCHC's service area with additional focus on those impacted by stigma and discrimination, social risk factors such as limited transportation access, unstable housing, uninsured or limited health insurance, and available treatment or support services. Through its established integrated care model, VPCHC is poised to provide care for patients needing mental health and substance use disorder services, addressing barriers to care, and improving patient outcomes for rural and underserved hoosier S.