Advancing Integrated Care Through Collaborative Partnerships: Hospitals, Health Systems, CMHCs and CCBHCs

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What does integrated care have in common with collaborative community partnerships? Both are solutions to improving access to care — and combining the two enhances the impact of both.

The value of integrated care, when health care teams treat both physical and behavioral health conditions, is well documented. The American Hospital Association’s September 2023 white paper “Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health: The Time is Now” describes how integrated care:

  • Improves patient outcomes.
  • Reduces the total cost of care.
  • Increases access to behavioral health services.
  • Enhances patient satisfaction.
  • Improves workforce productivity and satisfaction.
  • Reduces stigma.

Integrated care has been steadily expanding in the U.S. over the past decade. According to the American Hospital Association, roughly 60% of hospitals provided integrated care in the acute inpatient setting, and 62% of hospitals have provided integrated care in the emergency department in 2023 (American Hospital Association, 2025). Additionally, integrated care in primary care settings has grown 25% since 2017.

The reality is that hospitals and health systems acting alone will struggle to close the access gap for behavioral health care. The 2024 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health found 61.5 million Americans — approximately 23.4% of all U.S. adults — had a mental illness in 2024, but 48% of them did not receive treatment (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2025). There are multiple impediments to receiving behavioral health services, including workforce shortages, failure to fully implement the mental health parity law, stigma and often a fragmented continuum of care.

Hospitals and health care systems have a unique opportunity to serve as leaders and conveners, bringing together community agencies and partners to form regional behavioral health care networks to improve access to the right care at the right time and the right place. Over the past decade, the American Hospital Association has shared examples of effective community partnerships from across the nation. They offer insights for other communities interested in improving access to behavioral health services through community partnerships. While the specific approach and impact of each collaboration may differ, there are some key drivers of success (American Hospital Association, 2022):

  • Engaged leadership, where health system/hospital CEOs and governing boards are directly involved and supportive.
  • Community endorsement and support, where each community partner is also a stakeholder and part of the solution.
  • Innovative coordination and funding that optimizes existing resources available to the community partners while also exploring new funding sources.
  • Optimizing care delivery by standardizing processes and handoffs, such as adopting common screening tools and coordinating all levels of follow-up care.
  • Leveraging technology, such as telehealth and electronic referral systems.
  • Actionable data and metrics through data reporting and transparency to demonstrate value.

Together, these strategies support a “no wrong door” approach to care. Where available, Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) can be significant strategic partners to facilitate access to behavioral health care at the right time, place and level of care.

This is not easy work. At times, potential community partners have not previously worked together in a collaborative capacity. However, they routinely depend on one another’s services and support to maintain their individual efforts. Often, once community partners identify common challenges, such as the uncoordinated, fragmented care delivery system, they can begin collaborating on the common goals. The value of collaboration then becomes not only clear but essential.

The push for integrated care is not new, but there is a growing momentum – and a real opportunity – to move from conversation to action. There are increasingly more billing code options for integrated care services, and consumers are demanding more timely access to behavioral health care. Integrated care improves outcomes, reduces the total cost of care and enhances workforce satisfaction. It improves communication, coordination and collaboration among providers, creating a holistic approach to care that addresses both physical and mental health needs in a seamless, patient-centered way. 

How are you responding to urgent behavioral health needs in the community?

On Sept. 16, the National Council’s Center of Excellence for Integrated Health Solutions and the American Hospital Association produced Advancing Integrated Care Through Collaborative Partnerships (recording available on demand). The webinar featured an integrated care spotlight with University Hospitals in Cleveland, which has a long history of innovation within behavioral health spaces.

Jeanne Lackamp, MD, Chair, Director, Behavioral Health Institute, University Hospitals Health System; and Mary Gabriel, MD, Medical Director, Integrated Behavioral and Mental Health Services at University Hospitals Health System, shared their journey to and the significant impact of providing integrated care across a continuum of care, including CMHCs and CCBHCs.

They described:

  • University Hospitals’ unique and impactful journey toward fully implementing collaborative care.
  • The key components and steps that contributed to their successful implementation of collaborative care.
  • How collaborative care has allowed them to improve access, specifically to youth in need of behavioral health care.
  • Many benefits of collaborative care, including its ability to be a workforce multiplier and provide a framework to create a full continuum of care, including local community mental health centers.

Sources

Guest Author

Rebecca B. Chickey, MPH
Sr. Director, Behavioral Health, Clinical Affairs and Workforce
American Hospital Association

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