Wyandot Behavioral Health Network has been awarded a nearly $4 million Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The grant funding will be split between two years and is the largest direct grant that Wyandot BHN has received in the last 30 years.
Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers became possible through the Excellence in Mental Health Act passed by congress in 2014. It set the standard for the continuum of care for clients and establishes quality standards for the outcomes of those services. This CCBHC grant will help Wyandot BHN meet all of the standards to be recognized as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center.
CCBHCs offer comprehensive services that focus on the whole person and serve anyone in need of care, including individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI), veterans and those who are underinsured. Through this grant, Wyandot BHN will be integrating behavioral health with primary health care through health screening and monitoring of key indicators. This more data-driven and outcome-focused approach to behavioral health care puts a renewed focus on accountability and continuous improvement.
This funding also provides the opportunity to enhance existing services, including Wyandot BHN’s crisis response programs. Wyandot BHN will also be adding substance abuse treatment to our array of services and creating an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team to serve those individuals at highest risk of hospitalization or incarceration.
“This is an opportunity to transform services with an enhanced focus on client outcomes,” says Wyandot BHN President & CEO Randy Callstrom. “This grant could be truly transformational for our organization.”
Right now, too many children, adults and families aren’t able to access the kind of treatment and resources they need. Too often, this reality results in unnecessary hospitalizations, incarcerations and homelessness. Through this grant from SAMHSA, Wyandot BHN will be able to make great strides toward making sure individuals and families in Wyandotte County have access to the care they need when they need it.