Memorial Awarded Grant To Provide Behavioral Health And Primary Healthcare Under One-Stop Clinic
Memorial Healthcare System is now providing residents in South Broward with integrated primary and behavioral healthcare under the same roof as part of a federally and county funded grant aimed at delivering personalized treatment plans for patients. The Mind/Body Wellness Project – administered by Memorial Outpatient Behavioral Health Center and South Broward Community Health Services– will form a Core Team that provides the services at its newly expanded outpatient clinic located in Hollywood, Florida. The federal grant, awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with additional funding through the Broward County Department of Human Services, will provide for a dedicated nurse practitioner, an RN Care Coordinator, a Medical Assistant, an Integrated Care Manager/Social Worker, a Peer Wellness Coach and a Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident. The resources and personnel provided by the grant is now in addition to the center’s established multidisciplinary and multicultural team of licensed psychiatrists, advanced registered nurse practitioners, licensed psychotherapists and certified peer support specialists who use effective evidence-based approaches to help patients achieve their goals. Additional services will include nutritional services, exercise classes, smoking cessation and chronic disease self-management support. Each ancillary program is evidence-based and targets behavioral changes toward promoting health outcomes of the patient, said the center’s medical director, Clara Alvarez Villalba, MD. “Logistically, The Mind/Body Wellness Project and the Telepsychiatry will increase the access to a full range of medical care for patients. It will help improve coordination of care among providers.”