UnitedHealthcare Awards $500,000 to Five Federally Qualified Health Centers To Increase Access To Behavioral Health Services

Grant funds will allow health centers in Michigan to hire and train additional staff, develop new behavioral health resources, and reach more patients

UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Michigan awarded five federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) $100,000 grants to expand access to behavioral health services across the state. The FQHCs include Cherry Health, Family Health Center, Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, InterCare Community Health Network and MidMichigan Community Health Services.

“Our FQHC partners work tirelessly to ensure individuals in the communities we serve are able to obtain critical care like behavioral health support,” said Dennis Mouras, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Michigan. “It is an honor to collaborate with them to ensure Michiganders receive the services they need to support their mental health.”

Each of the FQHCs have dedicated the grant funds to specific projects:

• Cherry Health will hire additional staff to support their substance use disorder treatment efforts and expand local partnerships to sustain greater access to care in the community.
• Family Health Center will develop mental health screening programs and train additional staff to expand inpatient detoxification services. The FQHC will also create more accessible treatment spaces for individuals with disabilities.
• Great Lakes Bay Health Centers will create educational videos, expand breastfeeding support services in the Saginaw area and conduct behavioral health training for staff.
• InterCare Community Health Network will train and recruit additional health workers and expand telehealth services to extend the FQHC’s patient reach.
• MidMichigan Community Health Services will renovate and expand its space for substance use disorder and psychiatric treatment, increasing the number of patients the health center is able to serve.

“We are very appreciative of the support from UnitedHealthcare, which will help us improve the lives of all of our patients," said Eileen Chiang, vice president of corporate services and CFO, Family Health Center. “We continue to focus on refining our services to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our patients. As part of these efforts, the grant is helping us advance behavioral health and substance use services for community members in Kalamazoo County.”

Nearly 30% of adults in Michigan report experiencing symptoms related to anxiety or depression. Many people in need of behavioral health care or substance use treatment are unable to access it in a timely manner due to provider shortages, particularly in rural areas. The grant recipients recognize that there is a need to increase access to care and deploy innovative programs to drive better behavioral health outcomes in Michigan.

“Through the generous grant provided by UnitedHealthcare we have been able to implement training for all of our mental health providers in suicide screening and assessment and started new psychosocial groups at the organization’s largest site in Benton Harbor,” said David Gamble, director of behavioral health and SUD services, InterCare Community Health Network. “Additionally, we are making plans to invest in recruitment and retention, as well as technology, to improve our workforce capacity and efficiency to provide the level of access that will meet the needs of the communities we serve.”

UnitedHealthcare serves more than 1.7 million members enrolled in Medicaid, employer-sponsored, individual and Medicare and retirement plans in Michigan, with a network of 156 hospitals, and over 55,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.6 million physicians and care professionals, and 8,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow UnitedHealthcare on LinkedIn.

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