Enter the Primary and Behavioral Healthcare Learning Communities

The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare is hosting a number of Primary and Behavioral Healthcare Learning Communities. The year-long learning communities are designed to accelerate adoption of best practices in coordinating primary care and behavioral health, using a shared learning model and rapid cycle quality improvement strategies.

The 2010/2011 National Council's Primary and Behavioral Healthcare Learning Community is now up and running.
 
To learn more about Learning Communities, read the following fact sheet. If you would like to learn more about establishing a Learning Community in your state contact Laura Galbreath at laurag@thenationalcouncil.org.

Phase V of the National Council’s Primary Care-Mental Health Collaborative Care Project

The National Council invites member organizations to apply to participate in Phase V of the National Council’s Primary Care-Mental Health Collaborative Care Project. The project is designed to help Community Behavioral Health providers create a mutually beneficial relationship with their community primary care organization. During this process, members will increase referrals from primary care, create a structure that ensures collaborative care for shared patients, and increase clients’ access to primary care services.

In the fifth phase of the project Collaborative Care sites will:

• Gain insights on how to translate primary care and mental health integration activities and tools to meet the unique needs of underserved communities.
• Participate in a learning community with other sites that share your interest. This structure allows for peer-to-peer learning and problem solving.
• Receive more than 50 hours of free consultation from nationally recognized researchers and consultants in the area of primary care integration. We have altered the consultation process, resulting in more time available to each site to focus on its own change process and to receive additional coaching.

Participation in this project is limited to five National Council member organizations and their primary care partners.

The application provides additional information about Phase V and the requirements associated with this exciting project. Please review the project schedule carefully and set aside time for project team members to participate in key events including the November 8/9th Learning Session. Completed applications must be received by 5 pm, Eastern Time on Friday, October 22, 2010.

If you have questions about the project or the application process, please contact Kathy Reynolds or Thea Browning at 202-684-3725.
 

Primary Care-Mental Health Learning Collaborative

The National Council is pleased to announce the launch of Phase IV of its Primary Care-Mental Health Collaborative Care Project in September 2009. The National Council is partnering with SAMHSA and the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in this phase of the project.

Through a competitive RFP process, four community behavioral health organizations operating in traditionally underserved and culturally diverse communities have been selected to participate in the project along with their local primary care partners. The sites are Community Care Services and Western Wayne Family Health Center in Lincoln Park, MI; Community Support Services, Inc. and Margaret Clark Morgan Integrated Primary Care Clinic in Akron, OH; Connecticut Mental Health Center and The Primary Care Center of Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT; David Lawrence Center, Inc. and Collier Health Services, Inc. in Naples, FL; and Southeast Human Service Center and Family HealthCare Center in Fargo, ND.

The Collaborative Care project is designed to help participating behavioral health organizations establish mutually beneficial relationships with their community primary care organizations, learn how to obtain increased referrals from primary care, create a structure that ensures collaborative care for shared patients, and increase access to primary care services for persons with mental illness. During the one-year project, participants will receive 50+ hours of expert consulting, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and a range of tools and techniques to overcome clinical, financing, cultural, and communication barriers to providing comprehensive healthcare for their patients.

The first three phases of the National Council’s Collaborative Care project have reached a total of 16 sites — each a partnership between a community mental health and primary care organization — since 2007, and helped to build effective model programs for health collaboration. Participants in these phases report increased referrals for mental health services, greater access to primary care services, staff and organizational culture changes, enhanced communication with partner organizations, and improved measurement of outcomes. To learn more about the outcomes achieved in Phase I and II of the Primary Care Mental Health Collaborative Project, review the faculty findings.

If you have questions about the project or the application process, please contact Laura Galbreath at LauraG@thenationalcouncil.org or at 202.684.7457, ext. 231.

Primary Care-Behavioral Health Collaborative Participants Featured in Mental Health Weekly
Primary and Behavioral Health Integration efforts in the fourth phase of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare’s Primary Care-Mental Health Collaborative Care Project were recently featured in the July 19 issue of Mental Health Weekly.

Apply Now: Integrated Health Provider Learning Collaborative
The SAMHSA/HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS) invites mental health and addiction treatment organizations to submit an application for a new Integrated Health Provider Learning Collaborative.  Participation in this Collaborative will greatly assist your organization to respond to the important question: How can community mental health and addiction provider organizations build collaborative relationships that support clinical integration? Click here to download the application.

Examples of Primary Care and Behavioral Healthcare Integration

Community behavioral health organizations and community health centers across the United States share their experiences in behavioral health and primary care integration, collaboration, and colocation, revealing what works and what doesn't.

Behavioral Health-Primary Care Integration Listserve

The National Council’s Behavioral Health-Primary Care Integration Listserve is open to National Council members and others who are working on the frontlines of coordinating care and are looking for a forum to discuss common challenges and solutions.

Federal Agencies

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Health Resources and Services Administration
• Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Stakeholder Groups

• National Association of Community Health Centers
  
• Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
• Mental Health America position statement on Integration
• National Alliance on Mental Ilness
• Whole Health Campaign

• Hogg Foundation for Mental Health 
• Maine Health Access Foundation  
• Ohio Coordinating Center for Integrating Care
• California Integrated Behavioral Health Project
• MacArthur Foundation: Initiative on Depression and Primary Care
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• National Network to Eliminate Disparities