Integrating Substance Abuse, Mental Health and Health Care Services: A Community Approach

As the current lack of integration between behavioral health and health care services presents serious challenges for patients and providers, new integrative models are being developed to improve quality of care and patient outcomes. Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Plymouth, serving more than 250,000 people living on the South Shore and Cape Cod in Massachusetts, undertook a comprehensive community health needs assessment in 2013 that identified mental health and substance abuse as two of their most pressing issues. To address these concerns, the hospital embarked on a process to create a model to integrate behavioral health into their primary care services. Recognizing that community involvement and support was the key to ensuring the success of behavioral health integration and to ensuring sustainable improvement in the community’s collective behavioral health, the hospital hired Health Resources in Action, Inc., a non-profit public health organization, to conduct a comprehensive behavioral health assessment to inform a community behavioral health improvement model. The process engaged over 40 individuals involved in different aspects of behavioral health through community focus groups and interviews. Assessment participants were concerned with the lack of behavioral health services in the area resulting in an overburdened emergency department. Participants also discussed stigma as a significant barrier to accessing services, the lack of positive community activities for youth, and the need for a forum for engaging the community around behavioral health issues. The presentation will discuss the behavioral health assessment process, key findings, recommendations, and next steps in implementing the community model.