Maine Behavioral Healthcare receives $1M to expand access in Knox County
Courtesy / Maine Behavioral Healthcare
As southern Maine’s only not-for-profit, private psychiatric treatment and recovery center, Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook is part of Maine Behavioral Healthcare.
Just two months after being awarded a state grant of over $1.3 million to provide substance use treatment in 10 Maine counties, Maine Behavioral Healthcare is receiving nearly $1 million to expand access in Knox County.
The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said this week it awarded Maine Behavioral Healthcare $978,645 to focus on access to care for people with serious mental illness and substance use disorders through a certified community behavioral health clinic serving Knox County.
“This unique model of care provides better access to care for the most vulnerable in our communities enabling patients to realize their hopes for behavioral health and well-being,” said COO Maria Hadjiyane.
Certified community behavioral health clinics are required to serve anyone who requests care for mental health or substance use, regardless of ability to pay, place of residence, or age, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
An important feature of the model is that it requires crisis services that are available 24/7. The clinics are required to provide a comprehensive array of behavioral health services so that people who need care don't have to piece together the behavioral health support they need across multiple providers. And they must provide care coordination to help people navigate behavioral health care, physical health care, social services and the other systems they are involved in.
Maine Behavioral Healthcare is part of MaineHealth, the largest health care system in the state, serving 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire.
The Knox County clinic is designed to improve timely access to a full range of mental health and substance use treatment services offered to patients regardless of insurance.
Through community partnerships, the program aims to:
- Increase access to and availability of high-quality services that meet the needs of the community.
- Support recovery from mental health and substance use disorder challenges via comprehensive community-based treatment and peer support.
- Use evidence-based practices that address the needs of the individuals the clinic serves.
- Meaningfully involve consumers and family members in patient care and the broader governance of the clinic.
- Continually work to measure and improve the quality of services.
Earlier this year, Maine Behavioral Healthcare became the sixth behavioral health organization in Maine to participate in the certified community behavioral health clinic model of care when the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the organization an implementation grant of $1 million per year for four years serving people in York County.
“We look forward to providing quality care to this underserved area using best practices and collaborating with other agencies in the Knox County community," said Hadjiyane.
Maine Behavioral Healthcare is a not-for-profit organization serving more than 20,000 children, adolescents and adults at over 30 locations throughout southern, western and midcoast Maine, providing mental health care from outpatient community offices to inpatient acute care at Spring Harbor Hospital.
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