WATERVILLE – HealthReach has recently been awarded Substance Use Disorder/Mental Health supplemental funding of $391,000 which provides support to implement and advance evidence-based strategies for expanded access to integrated substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health services.
This supplemental funding will target enhancing HealthReach’s mental health workforce through the addition of a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to the team of twelve Behavioral Health Consultants and the addition of a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner to complement the current team of three Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners.
“HealthReach’s roots are in primary care,” said Connie Coggins, President and CEO. “In the last 7 years, we’ve built upon this strong foundation in primary care by integrating behavioral health and substance use disorder services. We want to offer patients a wider range of the services they need in the comfort of their primary care office. These services are provided by a team of professionals who work together with patients to achieve their health goals. This funding will support our ability to expand these efforts.”
The integration of mental health and substance use services at HealthReach continues to grow. Behavioral health services have increased from 1200 visits in 2011 to 7900 visits in 2017. Likewise, visits supporting the management of psychiatric medications grew from 1200 visits in 2015 to 3100 visits in 2017. In addition, HealthReach will utilize a portion of the funding to renovate Madison Area Health Center to accommodate the previously mentioned incoming staff members.
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HealthReach Community Health Centers is a group of eleven Federally Qualified Health Centers in Central and Western Maine. Dedicated providers deliver high quality medical and behavioral health care to citizens in over 80 rural communities. To ensure access for everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineCare and major insurances. In addition, an Affordable Care Program is available to uninsured and underinsured residents as well as assistance with applications for programs that help with the cost of health care and medications including the Health Insurance Marketplace.
A private, non-profit with a 43-year history, HealthReach is funded by patient fees, grants and by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3,930,684 with 82.5 percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.