IMPROVING ACCESS TO CARE
Douglas County health care agencies are collaborating to build an integrated system of care that moves from crisis and illness as a norm to recovery and prevention as a practice.
To achieve that vision, the Behavioral Health Leadership Coalition has developed a series of initiatives to improve access to care and services and reduce lag times for people who suffer with mental illness and substance use disorders. These include:
Improve Access to Psychiatry, Medication Management, and Outpatient Treatment
Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, LMH Health Heartland Community Health Center and DCCCA are collaborating to increase the number of providers in Douglas County, to expand the use of telemedicine, to reduce lag times between appointments, and to support primary care physicians with psychiatric consultation services.
Behavioral Health Leadership Coalition partners are working together to coordinate recruiting and retention efforts. They're also collaborating to develop a more formal follow-up and treatment model between Lawrence Memorial Hospital (LMH) and Heartland Community Health Center for individuals who experience a behavioral health crisis and seek care through the LMH Emergency Department.
Provide Medication Assisted Treatment & Access to Regional Social Detox Services
DCCCA is working with Douglas County, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, and regional partners to pilot a care coordination project increasing access to current social detox services for residents assessed as needing that intervention. DCCCA provides social detox in three residential treatment centers in Kansas. DCCCA’s experience facilitating evidenced-based screening and monitoring, along with its established relationships with similar providers statewide, offers opportunities for a successful engagement despite a lack of social detox beds in Douglas County. The project targets adult men and women who are uninsured; are assessed as medically stable; do not have a supportive, stable living environment in which to safely detox from substance use; and who voluntarily agree to a social detox stay.