Maryland Community Health 
Resources Commission
June 30, 2017 | Issue 28
Larry Hogan,  Governor 

Boyd K. Rutherford, Lieutenant Governor

Dennis R. Schrader, Health Secretary
CHRC Commissioners
John A. Hurson 
Allan Anderson, MD
Elizabeth Chung
Maritha R. Gay
J. Wayne Howard
Surina Jordan, PhD
Barry Ronan
Carol Ivy Simmons, PhD
Julie Wagner
Anthony C. Wisniewski
Tools and Resources
New Funding opportunity - Empowered Communities for a Healthier Nation Initiative.   

In the beginning of June 2017, The Office of Minority Health released a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA): Empowered Communities for a Healthier Nation Initiative.   The initiative seeks to reduce significant health disparities impacting minorities and disadvantaged populations through the implementation of evidence-based strategies with the greatest potential for impact.  The program will serve residents in counties disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic; reduce the impact of serious mental illness at the primary care level for children, adolescents and/or adults; and reduce obesity prevalence and disparities in weight status among disadvantaged children and adolescents. 
Applications due by August 1, 2017 at 5:00 pm ET , and projects to start September 30, 2017. For more information about the FOA and to obtain application materials, click  here.

SAHMSA Releases the Behavioral Health Barometer, Volume Four

On June 13, 2017, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released the Behavioral Health Barometer, Volume Four as an overview of the nation's behavioral health. The Barometer is a unique compilation of facts and figures on issues such as substance use, serious mental illness, serious thoughts of suicide, and related treatment. The findings are broken down into major groups according to age, gender, racial and ethnic categories, income, and access to health insurance.

The Barometer also shows trends in an array of mental health issues and related treatment. This report can also be viewed as a snapshot of the nation's behavioral health needs. The data analysis can help the behavioral health care providers determine how to meet these needs. Likewise, policymakers can identify solutions to reduce the gaps among various groups.
To obtain a copy of the Behavioral Health Barometer, click here
.
CHRC News
CHRC Commissioners vote to award grants to two additional safety net programs

The Commission met earlier this week, and the CHRC Commissioners voted to award two new grants to Pressley Ridge, in Allegany County, and Helping Up Mission, in Baltimore City.  These two grants are in addition to the 17 grants awarded earlier this year.
 
Pressley Ridge, a behavioral health provider, will utilize grant funds to support implementation of the HOMEBUILDERSĀ® model, an evidence based program which aims to increase family engagement in treatment with a goal of family preservation and cost savings for the social service system.  The Center will work closely with the Allegany County Department of Social Services to provide services for children removed from their parents due to substance use.  The program's goal is family preservation when appropriate by increasing access to behavioral health and wraparound services.  
 
Helping Up Mission, an organization that provides support services to homeless men with substance use disorders, will utilize funds to expand an existing program they have with the University of Maryland Dental School to help homeless residents secure comprehensive dental services.  This program will build on Helping Up Mission's existing partnerships with Towson University, the Health Alliance, Johns Hopkins Hospital, UMSOD, and the DHMH Office of Oral Health.

Building a Base for Integrated Care

Earlier this month, the Commission released the first of a series of white papers that will explore the impact of behavioral health programs supported with CHRC funds.  The first white paper, "Building a Base for Integrated Care," describes several initiatives that helped promote the ongoing integration of somatic and behavioral health services.  Grants highlighted in the white paper include programs implemented by Way Station, which implemented the Missouri Health Home Model for its clients and ultimately led to the statewide implementation of Health Homes in Maryland, and Mosaic Community Services, which partnered with a Federally Qualified Health Center to deliver integrated behavioral health services for patients of the health center.
 

To obtain a copy of this white paper, click   here.

Grantee News
Pascal Center holds ribbon cutting event to celebrate opening of the Stabilization Center in Crownsville

On June 8, 2017, the Robert A. Pascal Center for Youth and Family Services hosted a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the opening of the new crisis stabilization center in Crownsville. The event was attended by a number of state and local officials including Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh, senior staff of the Hogan Administration, state and county legislators, and CHRC Commissioners Elizabeth Chung and Ivy Simmons.  The program is a first of its kind facility in Anne Arundel County and will help meet an overwhelming need for community-based services to address the opioid and heroin epidemic.  The stabilization center is a 16-bed facility which offers individuals experiencing a mental health crisis an option for treatment outside of the emergency room.  To view the press coverage of the event, click  here .
 
The Commission has awarded 47 grants totaling $12.3 million to expand access to behavioral health services in community-based settings.  These grants have supported programs in 16 jurisdictions.  For more information about CHRC's behavioral health grants, click here.

Taking part in the ribbon cutting ceremony (from left to right): Mark Luckner, Executive Director, CHRC; Frances B. Phillips, Acting Health Officer, Anne Arundel County; Wes Adams, States Attorney, Anne Arundel County; Katherine Bonincontri, President and Executive Director, Pascal Center; CHRC Commissioner Ivy Simmons; Steven J. McAdams, Executive Director, Governor's Office of Community Initiatives, CHRC Commissioner Elizabeth Chung, and Christopher Trumbauer, County Council, Anne Arundel County.
Allegany Health Right completes CHRC Grant

Allegany Health Right completed a two-year dental grant to refer Medicaid covered adults to low-cost subsidized dental services in the community. The program was supported with funding provided by the CHRC and Western Maryland Health System.

Over the two years of the grant, the program has referred 312 individuals to community dentists, many of whom would have gone to the ED at Western Maryland Health System (WMHS) if these services were not available. The program has also provided oral health education to more than 3,400 community members.  In the final year of the program, there was a 27% decrease in the number of ED visits for dental conditions by Maryland Medicaid patients at WMHS.
 
The Commission has awarded 35 grants totaling $7.2 million to expand access to dental services in community-based settings.  These grants served more than 53,000 individuals through more than 114,000 dental visits.  For more information about CHRC's dental grants, click  
here .