Quality improvement fund - justice involved - organizational history/service area/target population: sterling health solutions, INC. (SHS), headquartered in MT

Sterling, KY, provides comprehensive health services to underserved, low-income and disadvantaged populations in rural kentucky. SHS has been a federally qualified health center since 2012. SHS services include comprehensive primary care including preventive care, chronic disease management, obstetrics, dental, vision, behavioral health, substance use disorder with mat, intensive outpatient programs, pharmacy services, and enabling services including transportation, care management, life skill classes, outreach and enrollment, and translation services. No patient is denied care because of inability to pay for services. Service area: SHS services the kentucky counties of bath, bourbon, clark, menifee, montgomery, nicholas, and powell. SHS provides school-based health services to bath, bourbon, montgomery, nicholas, and powell counties in kentucky. Service area needs: the target population is impacted by a wide array of healthcare concerns. The barriers to care range from lack of understanding the availability of care, healthcare literacy, transportation, and other social determinants of health. Proposal: this proposal aims to address the pressing need for comprehensive primary healthcare, behavioral health, dental, and substance use disorder (SUD) services for soon to be released incarcerated residents within SHS's service area. SHS's goal is to expand our current programs in the montgomery county jail to provide access to transitional healthcare to incarcerated individuals scheduled to be released within a 90-day period. Recognizing the profound impact of hypertension along with other acute and chronic healthcare needs, such as mental health with SUD, of this population is critical to provide a pathway for their successful transition back into the community.