New York will receive $10 million in federal funding over five years to expand behavioral health services in primary care settings, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Oct. 27.
The state Office of Mental Health will administer the grant through a new initiative called Advancing Collaborative Care for Evidence-Based, Sustainable Systems, or ACCESS-NY. The program will bring the collaborative care model to eight federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics that treat a disproportionately high number of patients with complex physical and behavioral health needs.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provided $4 million up front to fund the first two years. The federal agency will award an additional $2 million in each of the program’s final three years.
ACCESS-NY is expected to serve about 1,750 patients ages 6 and older who have chronic physical conditions along with mental health or substance use challenges. The funding will also support partnerships between primary care practices and community mental health centers, technology that integrates with EHRs to provide clinical decision support, and new online training to address workforce shortages. The state will also explore using nontraditional providers, including credentialed mental health support specialists and registered nurses, in required roles.
Ms. Hochul said the funding will help more providers “integrate these services into primary care settings” and reduce barriers for patients in the state’s less-populated areas. Office of Mental Health Commissioner Ann Sullivan, MD, called ACCESS-NY one of several state efforts to make timely mental health support easier to obtain.
The collaborative care model, which adds a psychiatric consultant and a behavioral healthcare manager to primary care teams, launched in New York in 2012 and now has support at more than 450 physical health practices statewide.
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