Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems (SVCHS) received a federal grant from Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for $237,773 to use toward expanding access to quality substance use disorder and mental health services (SUD-MH).
Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems was one of 20 health centers in Virginia to receive this funding. HRSA distributed a total of $5,301,921 to support the 20 health centers. Nationwide, for this type of grant funding, HRSA distributed $352,289,768 to 1,232 health centers during the 2018 fiscal year.
The grant requirements included facilities that were already providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services as demonstrated by 2017 uniform data systems to increase the number of patients receiving MAT services or have plans to begin providing MAT services. The funding requested is for a two-year period.
“We are very excited to be able to be one of the grantees for this funding. This will be very beneficial to our New Day Recovery facility to help the people in the area that are struggling with addiction to be able to receive the care that they need,” Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems, Bryan Haynes said.
New Day Recovery is a team-based program that is dedicated to providing high quality treatment services to help with the illness of substance abuse, specifically opioids. The staff, who consists of professionals who are qualified and trained in the treatment of addiction, is committed to caring and promoting dignity and self-respect in and for each and every patient, and provide the opportunity to obtain treatment and embrace recovery with the least amount of disruption in everyday life. Each treatment is personalized from intake to discharge, to assure that the patient receives necessary medical and counseling attention. As a result, the patient can continue to receive support from the community and from their family.
With this funding, Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems’ overall goals related to substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health (MH) are to improve the detection and treatment of SUD and mental illness, as well as the management of co-occurring physical conditions and diseases. By improving SUD and MH identification and treatment, SVCHS aims to improve health outcomes, decrease health risks, and increase the cost-efficacy of its integrated primary care and behavioral health model.
“SVCHS is very fortunate to receive this additional funding to help people in our communities who suffer from the devastating effects of mental health and substance use disorders. Treating and preventing these illnesses requires a team centered approach because they impact a patient’s emotional, physical, social, and spiritual lives. Unfortunately a pill or quick word of advice is not enough. The grant will increase our ability to provide comprehensive and integrative services including screening for illnesses, medical and behavioral health treatment, care management, and community referrals to support our patients’ recovery process,” New Day Recovery and Behavioral Health Director of Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems, Marcy Rosenbaum said.