Advancing Primary Care and Behavioral Health and Integration Through Community Collaboration – Phase II
Funder
Blue Shield of California Foundation
Program Goal
Improve system-level integration of primary and behavioral health care in the safety net in California through collaborative action among providers, county agencies and Medi-Cal managed care plans.
About
The grant funds a variety of activities aimed at increasing the coordination of treatment across systems of care. The primary activities are the implementation of two pilot programs involving pairings of primary care and behavioral health programs. The goal of Shared Treatment Pilots which include pairings between North County Health Services and North Coastal Mental Health, and La Maestra Community Health Center and the Union of Pan-Asian Communities is to coordinate care between the mental health and PC for a shared population of patients/clients to improve quality of care and reduce redundancy and cost, because care that is fragmented and siloed is inefficient at best and can be dangerous.
The Transition Visit Pilot includes pairings between; La Maestra Community Health Center and Rady Children’s Hospital; and San Ysidro Health Center, Imperial Beach Health and Maria Sardiñas Center. The goal of this pilot is to facilitate the successful transition of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) who are ready to graduate from a specialty mental health center to a community health center to receive both primary care and ongoing behavioral health services. All too often individuals remain in the specialty mental health system much longer than necessary, and do not get connected with primary care. It is essential to get people with SMI incorporated in the primary care system because people with SMI die on average 25 years earlier that people with out SMI typically from the same diseases, and as a result of not getting good primary and preventative care.
Services are available to individuals receiving care at any of the participating health centers. Eligible individuals will typically be approached by staff at their respective programs about participation.
Staff Contact
Marty Adelman
