Simplifying Access to Behavioral Health Services Through Integrated Care

Submitted by glima on Tue, 2022-10-18 21:02

In the United States, 25% of adults are living with a behavioral health concern, yet more than half do not receive treatment. For those seeking out services, their Primary Care Providers deliver about 70% of all behavioral health treatments. Integrated care models provide primary care and behavioral health management in the same setting, making it easier for patients to access and for providers to communicate.

Time to ACT: Reducing Mortality and Readmissions for Hospitalized Patients seen by the Addiction Care Team (ACT)

Submitted by glima on Tue, 2022-10-18 21:00

We face an escalating addiction epidemic, with more than 100,000 people dying of drug-related overdoses in the US in 2021—the highest number of deaths ever recorded. San Francisco has the highest overdose death rate in California. At SFGH, more than 1/3 of hospitalized patients have a substance use disorder (SUD). Our patients with SUD have longer lengths of stay (3 v 5 days), 1.5x higher 30-day readmission rates, and 5x higher self-discharges than those without SUD.

Pursuing Certification as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC)

Submitted by glima on Tue, 2022-10-18 20:58

Due to the aftermath of COVID-19 and the global pandemic, we are experiencing an unprecedented demand for behavioral health (BH) services. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), whole-person care has only been available to patients within the mild to moderate level of impairment, resulting in referrals to county and other specialty mental health clinics for patients that are in crisis, require psychiatry and/or a higher level of care. Unfortunately, current wait times for patients seeking psychiatry and a higher level of care are reportedly between 6-8 months.

Integrating Behavioral Health and Autism Services into a Medical Health Plan

Submitted by glima on Tue, 2022-10-18 20:54

Patients with Mental Health (MH) conditions have poorer quality outcomes and experience persistent barriers in accessing care than those without MH conditions. Individuals with a Serious Mental Illness (SMI) or Substance Use Disorder (SUD) die over 20 years earlier than individuals without such a diagnosis. People with MH diagnoses incur costs more than those without MH disease. While the current health delivery system is shifting, it often separates Physical and Mental Health care.

Creating a County-Wide Group Therapy Network (MCBH)

Submitted by glima on Tue, 2022-10-18 20:48

My project aims to provide access to Countywide therapy groups for adults suffering from severe mental illness. Monterey County Behavioral Health (MCBH) Adult System functions within regional silos composed of 4 different regional clinics in Salinas, Marina, Soledad, and King City. Currently, a behavioral health client can only obtain therapy group services offered by a regional clinic actively serving the client.

Dominant Power and the Concept of Caste: Implications for Dentistry and Oral Health Inequality

In her 2020 book Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson argues that a caste system not only exists in the US, but also operates as a hidden force affecting social inequality. In this paper, Healthforce Center’s Associate Director for Research Dr. Elizabeth Mertz and colleagues explore Wilkerson's view of how caste and casteism differ from racism and then apply the concept of caste to understanding dominant power structures in dentistry, and their connection to oral health inequality.

Celebrating our Achievements: CIN Advanced Racial Health Equity and More

The California Improvement Network (CIN), a project of the California Health Care Foundation that is managed by Healthforce Center at UCSF, is a community of health care professionals that has been striving since 2005 to identify and spread ideas to improve health care delivery in California. CIN’s most recent cycle — the last two and a half years — was especially challenging due to the pandemic. Despite making its activities entirely virtual, CIN sustained and strengthened relationships across health care silos and inspired actions to improve care in California.

Meet the Fifth Cohort of the Cedars-Sinai Managing to Leading Program

Thirty-two mid-level clinicians and administrative staff who work in community health centers and other safety-net organizations in Los Angeles have been selected to participate in the fifth cohort of the Cedars-Sinai’s Community Clinic Initiative: Managing to Leading (M2L) program. Funded by Cedars-Sinai and administered by Healthforce Center at UCSF, this program develops promising staff with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to effectively lead change and improve health care delivery.

Maximizing the PPE Available for Los Angeles County Workforce during COVID-19

Submitted by glima on Wed, 2022-06-01 14:10

My CHIP project focuses on conservation of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the 23,000 workforce members in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to find new ways to extend our existing supply of PPE, identify safe and effective alternatives, and secure new supply that met agency standards. Emphasis is on the decontamination or re-processing of N95 respirators, as there was a critical supply shortage of N95s at the onset of the pandemic.