Trillium Community Health Plan is the Coordinated Care Organization here in Lane County. They began enrolling people the first of this year and their goal was to enroll 24,000 people who didn’t have healthcare over the course of two years.
They enrolled 23,000 in two months. The only problem with this surge of people, our community was unprepared with health providers to meet the need, with 11,000 people without primary care physicians. So Trillium came to our board and is granting Lane County 1 million dollars to open our third federally qualified health clinic out West 11th!
We hope to have that up and running as soon as possible, with enough staff to enroll 6,000 of those unassigned by next month.
Lane County has been a leader in the Coordinated Care effort across the state and I am proud of the work all our community partners are doing to bring quality, accessible health care to the residents of our county.
Along with this grant, Lane County also received nearly 2.4 million in other grant funding to be used in multiple ways in our mental health programs.
Here is a break down of how those dollars will be used:
Early Assessment and Support Alliance (EASA). Lane County received $475,000, to increase funding for PeaceHealth’s EASA program. EASA provides support for youth and young adults with early identification and treatment for emerging psychotic disorders, with the goal of keeping young people on an appropriate developmental path. PeaceHealth is the only organization in Lane County to be approved by the State as an EASA program. Competitive process was completed in October, 2014, prior to submission of the grant including a Notice of Intent to contract as a sole source provider. PeaceHealth was the sole respondent.
Crisis Services. Lane County received $750,000 to support and expand crisis response services. Funds will expand CAHOOTS services into Springfield and the surrounding unincorporated areas. This funding will allow for the provision of crisis respite apartments. Individuals in crisis can stay in these apartments, supported by a live-in Peer Support Specialist (PSS) who ensures next-day access to further mental health services. Additionally, these funds will allow expansion of child and adolescent crisis response services, filling a critical gap in the continuum of care for youth in Lane County. By funding sub-acute treatment beds for young people, this program will mean young people in need of behavioral health services will no longer be languishing in local emergency rooms while waiting for appropriate services and placement. These services will be provided through a combination of in-house and contracted services. A competitive selection process will be implemented for the contracted services.
Mental Health Promotion & Prevention. Lane County received $200,000 to support the Prevention Program and local Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) efforts regarding mental health promotion and prevention as well as to support the Department of Health & Human Services’ internal goals related to reducing the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Funds will support two major strategies: 1) implementing mental health promotion/stigma reduction media campaigns, including “Mental Health First Aid Kit”; and 2) launching a worksite mental health promotion/prevention initiative. No competitive selection is required as these services will be provided by Lane County staff.
Jail Diversion. Lane County received $500,000 to fund services designed to prevent people with serious mental illness from unnecessary involvement with the public safety system. Funds will support Crisis Intervention Team training to law enforcement officers and dispatch services in Lane County, as well as the development of a Jail Diversion Team – an intensive community wrap around team (Qualified Mental Health Professionals, Peer Support Specialists, and a Nurse Practitioner), operating within jails, after mobile crisis contacts as a diversion from jail, after jail release, and with individuals referred by courts and law enforcement officers. These funds will also support the provision of a crisis respite apartment, including the supportive presence of a PSS. These services will be provided by Lane County staff.
School Based Health Centers/Mental Health Expansion funds. Lane County received $473,500 to increase mental health capacity and support mental health projects within the three State-Certified School Based Health Centers (SBHC’s, located at North Eugene High School, Churchill High School, and Cascade Middle School). Funds will support the addition of mental health staff at each of the three SBHC’s, as well as support for integration of mental health staff into existing Electronic Medical Records (EMR), and supporting training and consultation to increase the cultural relevancy and accessibility for the SBHC’s. Competitive selection process not required as these services will be contracted through an Intergovernmental Agreement.
I am very excited about the benefits our county will experience from these investments.
Sincerely,
Faye Stewart
Lane County Commission, Position 5
