Rural Project Examples: Aging and aging-related services

New Horizons Geriatric Counseling Program

Updated/reviewed June 2022

• Need: Improved behavioral health care offerings for a community after losing 5 senior-aged men to suicide.
• Intervention: A Critical Access Hospital in Yoakum, Texas, created a community-based program focusing on inpatient and outpatient behavioral health care for area residents age 50 and older.
• Results: A financially-sustainable behavioral health care delivery model demonstrating positive impacts on physical health conditions, healthcare service utilization, and high patient satisfaction rates.