Tag: Primary Care

DHHR To Distribute Federal Funding For Mental Health And Substance Use Services

In a release, the DHHR outlined seven grant programs that will support various health initiatives across the state.

More than $33 million in federal funding was awarded to the Bureau for Behavioral Health (BBH) to enhance mental health and substance use prevention services for West Virginians.

Federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will support prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery services across the state.

“BBH and its partners are seizing every opportunity to meet our state’s behavioral health needs,” said Dawn Cottingham-Frohna, commissioner for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ (DHHR) Bureau for Behavioral Health. “With this funding, we are not only addressing the immediate needs of our communities but also investing in the long-term well-being of West Virginians.”

In a release, the DHHR outlined seven grant programs that will support various initiatives:

  • The Screening and Treatment for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders program will provide $750,000 annually for five years from the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand health care provider’s capacity to screen, assess, treat and refer pregnant and postpartum women for maternal mental health and Substance Use Disorder (SUD). BBH is partnering with the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership’s Drug Free Moms and Babies Project to implement the program.
  • The Children’s Mental Health Initiative will provide $3,000,000 annually for four years to provide resources to improve the mental health outcomes for children and youth up to age 21, who are at risk for, or have serious emotional disturbance or serious mental illness and their families with connection to mobile crisis response and stabilization teams and other community-based behavioral health services through the 24/7 Children’s Crisis and Referral Line (844-HELP4WV).
  • The First Responders – Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Grant will provide $800,000 annually for four years to build upon the Police and Peers program implemented by DHHR’s Office of Drug Control Policy. The activities will be administered by the Bluefield Police Department, Fayetteville Police Department, and the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center, Fayette County Health Department and Logan County Health Department.
  • The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness grant will distribute $300,000 annually for two years to support the system of care for adults in West Virginia and promote access to permanent housing and referral to mental health, substance abuse treatment and health care services. Grantees are located in areas of the state with the most need, based on the population of individuals experiencing homelessness, including the Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless, Prestera Center, Raleigh County Community Action, the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness and Westbrook Health Services.
  • The Promoting the Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care grant will provide $1,678,044 annually over five years to serve adults with serious mental illness who have co-occurring physical health conditions or chronic diseases and adults with SUD. Three provider partner agencies have been identified to work on this project including Seneca Health Services Inc., Southern Highlands Community Behavioral Health Center and United Summit Center, covering 16 counties in the state.
  • The Cooperative Agreements for States and Territories to Improve Local 988 Capacity will provide $1,251,440 annually for three years to enhance the capacity of West Virginia’s single 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline center, which is funded by BBH and operated by First Choice Services, to answer calls, chats and texts initiated in the state. In addition to this award, First Choice Services received $500,000 from Cooperative Agreements for 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Crisis Center Follow-Up Programs and a National Chat and Text Backup Center award from Vibrant Emotional Health to help answer overflow chats and texts from more than 200 local 988 centers nationwide.
  • The Behavioral Health Partnership for Early Diversion of Adults and Youth will provide $330,000 annually for five years to establish or expand programs that divert youth and young adults up to age 25 with mental illness or a co-occurring disorder from the criminal or juvenile justice system to community-based mental health and SUD services.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

New Health Care Facility Opening In September In Shepherdstown

Residents and university students in Shepherdstown will have access to a new health care facility starting next month.

WVU Medicine East announced this week that its new medical office building is expected to open mid-September.

The facility will provide new health care opportunities for people living in Shepherdstown and students at Shepherd University. It will offer primary and specialty care and have x-ray and laboratory services.

“We are excited to provide high-quality healthcare services in the Shepherdstown area,” said Aaron Henry, vice president of ambulatory operations for WVU Medicine East. “We have plans to add more primary care providers as the practice grows and will offer a number of our specialty services such as behavioral health and cardiology on a rotating basis.”

Up until now, people in the Shepherdstown area, with the exception of one primary care office, have had to drive anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes to receive medical care.

“The fact that Shepherdstown only has one primary care physician is why opening a medical facility there is so important,” said Teresa McCabe, vice president of Marketing and Development at WVU Medicine East. “[We are] pleased to be able to offer Shepherdstown residents improved access to primary and specialty health care services.”

The new WVU Medicine East location will staff two family medicine physicians and a pediatrician, according to a press release, and offer “walk-in” hours once it opens.

Additionally, the building will include a space for the WVU School of Medicine Eastern Campus to establish a teaching kitchen that will offer healthy cooking classes for patients as well as medical students in the MedChefs program, according to McCabe.

WVU Medicine operates more than 100 University Healthcare clinics, including physician offices, in the Eastern Panhandle region.

They also operate two hospitals in the area – Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center. These are the only hospitals available to residents in Jefferson and Berkeley counties other than the Martinsburg VA Medical Center.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.

W.Va. Health Centers to Get $19 Million in Federal Grants

West Virginia community health centers are getting $19 million in federal grants from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

The grants are to fund primary care services.

U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins says they include $1.29 million to Camden on Gauley Medical Center, $1.06 million to Monroe County Health Center, $1.48 million to New River Health Association and $1.5 million to Rainelle Medical Center.

Jenkins says they fill a critical gap in health care in southern West Virginia.

U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin say another $14 million will be divided among Change Inc., Cabin Creek Health Center, Community Care of West Virginia, Monongahela Valley Association of Health Centers, Pendleton Community Care, Shenandoah Valley Medical Systems, Wirt County Health Services Association and Womencare Inc.

Fairmont Health Center to Open in 2017

A new clinic will soon offer a variety of healthcare services in Marion County. WVU Medicine broke ground for a new complex located right off of I-79 in Fairmont Monday.

The nearly $14 million facility is scheduled to open in the summer of 2017 and will include 39 exam rooms and three procedure rooms. Its 25,000 square feet will offer patients in the Fairmont area access to primary care, urgent care, and general and vascular surgery, among other services.

The health clinic will be owned and operated by the University Health Associates, an affiliation of WVU Medicine. UHA Chief Medical Officer Judie Charlton says the new facility will increase access to care and provide more options for patients in the area.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

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