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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Project Examples: Behavioral health

Other Project Examples

Regional Behavioral Health Network

Updated/reviewed April 2023

  • Need: Multiple organizations in rural east central Illinois needed a more efficient, centralized system for referring patients experiencing a behavioral health crisis to appropriate treatment services.
  • Intervention: The Regional Behavioral Health Network was established with a 24-hour toll-free crisis line, providing immediate access to trained crisis clinicians.
  • Results: Improved access to high quality behavioral healthcare for patients in rural east central Illinois.

Outer Cape Health Services Community Resource Navigator Program

funded by the Health Resources Services Administration

Updated/reviewed March 2023

  • Need: Improving outcomes for Outer and Lower Cape Cod residents in need of social, behavioral health, and substance use disorder services while reducing the burden and costs to town agencies and hospital emergency rooms.
  • Intervention: The Community Resource Navigator Program works with local social services, town agencies, faith-based institutions, hospitals, the criminal justice system, and others to identify and connect clients to needed services.
  • Results: Clients are gaining access to the care they were once lacking, as measured by improvements in self-sufficiency. The program also helps community partners and stakeholders work together to reduce the impact of risks associated with behavioral health symptoms, substance use disorder, and social determinants of health.

Florissa

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy funded by the Health Resources Services Administration

Updated/reviewed February 2023

  • Need: To address the developmental, behavioral, and social/emotional needs of rural children ages 0-18 in northwest Illinois.
  • Intervention: A centralized facility for children and families facing developmental, behavioral, and social/emotional issues.
  • Results: Florissa continues to increase its referral numbers, expand its sessions and service offerings, and provide more information resources. It also co-located with the KSB Hospital pediatric department, which became certified as a pediatric patient-centered medical home (PCMH).

Together We Can Be Bully Free

Updated/reviewed February 2023

  • Need: Union Parish, a rural county in Louisiana, was experiencing higher than average suicide rates among youth.
  • Intervention: Union General Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital, started a program to educate students grade 4 through 12 on the negative effects of bullying and how to model positive social behavior.
  • Results: The 3,000+ students trained have learned how to recognize, report, and react to bullying.

Together With Veterans Rural Suicide Prevention Program

Updated/reviewed February 2023

  • Need: Suicide among veterans has been steadily increasing, and rural veterans have an increased risk of death by suicide compared to urban veterans.
  • Intervention: A program called Together With Veterans was formed to help rural communities address and prevent suicides among veterans. The initiative is veteran-led, collaborative, evidence-based, and community-centered.
  • Results: Data collection is ongoing.

Addiction Recovery Mobile Outreach Team (ARMOT)

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed January 2023

  • Need: To reduce the number of overdoses and overdose-related deaths from opioids in rural Pennsylvania.
  • Intervention: ARMOT provides 1) case management and recovery support services to individuals with substance use disorders and 2) education and support to rural hospital staff, patients, and their loved ones.
  • Results: Since 2015, ARMOT has received over 2,956 referrals.

Health-e-Schools

funded by the Health Resources Services Administration

Updated/reviewed October 2022

  • Need: Rural school children lack proper healthcare resources within the school setting.
  • Intervention: Health-e-Schools provides health services to students via telehealth using video conferencing and special equipment.
  • Results: Health-e-Schools increases access to primary healthcare, increases attendance in the classroom, and decreases the amount of time that parents or guardians must take off of work to bring their child to health-related appointments.

Indiana ASPIN Veteran's Services

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed October 2022

  • Need: To address the lack of mental healthcare options for rural veterans.
  • Intervention: A telebehavioral health hub network was created to connect community mental health centers to the VA Medical Center.
  • Results: More than 3,000 telehealth appointments have been made, saving hundreds of veterans time and money.

ASPIN's Certified Recovery Specialist Program

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy funded by the Health Resources Services Administration

Updated/reviewed September 2022

  • Need: Improved approach in addressing the behavioral health and primary care disparities of Indiana's underserved rural counties.
  • Intervention: A network was established that trained community health workers (CHWs) to be certified health insurance enrollment navigators and provide mental health services.
  • Results: This year, ASPIN trained 230 CHWs, cross-trained 70 behavioral health case managers as CHWs, and 35 individuals in the Indiana Navigator Pre-certification Education.

Frontier Area Rural Mental Health Camp and Mentorship Program (FARM CAMP)

Updated/reviewed September 2022

  • Need: To reduce the shortage of behavioral health professionals in rural Nebraska.
  • Intervention: A week-long camp teaches high school students in rural and tribal communities about different career options in behavioral health and provides mentorship after the camp ends.
  • Results: In 2022, 10 high school students participated in the camp, and a former camper returned to present on their work in a psychology lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.