Health Care Innovation Awards: Southeast Mental Health Services Project Profile

SOUTHEAST MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Project Title: "TIPPING POINT: Total Integration, Patient Navigation and Provider Training Project for Powers County, Colorado"
Geographic Reach: Colorado
Funding Amount: $1,405,924
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $1,875,000

Summary

Southeast Mental Health Services received an award to coordinate comprehensive, community-based care for high-risk, high-cost, and chronically ill residents of rural Prowers County, Colorado. The program employs Bachelor-level trained patient navigators to increase patients' access to primary and behavioral care, preventive care, and early intervention services, offering team-based education and coaching to improve both population health and self-management of disease. The results will include a reduction in emergency room visits and other high cost interventions, mitigation of the progress of chronic disease, better health habits, and better care and quality of life for these vulnerable patients. Southeast Mental Health Services is contracting with Otero Junior College to provide a "Health Navigator" training program to serve current and future healthcare workers across rural Colorado. Over a three-year period, Southeast Mental Health Service's program will train an estimated 62 workers and create an estimated 8.25 FTE jobs. The new workers will include health navigators, instructors, a marketing/communications assistant, and a project manager.

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