Southwest Montana Community Health Center 2021

Kennedy Elementary School-Based Clinic

Southwest Montana Community Health Center (SMCHC) is a federally qualified health center with clinics and pharmacies in Madison, Silver-Bow, Anaconda-Deer Lodge, and Beaverhead counties. This project will develop a school-based health center in Kennedy Elementary School, a school in which nearly 100% of students qualify for free and reduced-price meals and in which many students have low attendance rates. The health center will help improve the students' health, which will support their attendance and education. The health center will provide on-site medical and behavioral health services to students and their families. It will also offer other services like dental screenings, care management, pharmacy, and insurance assistance. Funding will support health center staff and IT services. Kennedy Elementary School (School District No. 1) is the project's primary partner along with other community groups like the local health department and Action Inc.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

24 month

2021

St. James Healthcare Foundation 2021

Emergency Medical Response in Jefferson County: Feasibility Study and Planning

St. James Healthcare used this grant to address the need for emergency medical services in Jefferson County. The county is sparsely populated, with fewer than seven people per square mile, and many of its residents are older and have chronic diseases. The grantee explored options for establishing a local volunteer EMS service. The grantee partnered with the Jefferson Valley Ambulance District (JVAD), and grant funds were used to pay a part-time interim ambulance director, who stays in Boulder two days a week to take ambulance calls, educate EMS providers, and work with the Boulder ambulance crew on policies and procedures. The project team drafted plans for the City of Boulder to join the JVAD, but the team was not able to train the entire staff of volunteer EMS providers. Along with tax and financial considerations, this challenge led the City to put this transition on hold. The City of Boulder and the Boulder Ambulance Service are pleased with the progress made thus far. They are committed to continuing this work to improve the county's access to high-quality emergency medical services.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2021

St. Peter's Health Foundation 2021

Helena Regional Housing is Health Care Initiative Implementation

St. Peter's Health Foundation used this grant to form a collaborative in Helena to provide permanent supportive housing to people experiencing chronic homelessness and complex medical issues requiring frequent hospital care, also known as frequent users of system engagement (FUSE). Members of the collaborative include St. Peter's Health, PureView Health Center, Many Rivers Whole Health PACT, Aware PACT, the Helena Housing Authority, United Way, and local shelter and emergency service providers. Grant funds were used to support a new dedicated community-based services manager and technical assistance from the Corporation for Supportive Housing. A key aspect of this project is the Community Health Worker (CHW) program, which involves two CHWs helping to coordinate care among medical, behavioral health, housing, and social service providers. The collaborative successfully housed 19 system-identified frequent users, reducing emergency department visits, ambulance calls, inpatient admissions, urgent care visits, and criminal justice involvement among FUSE clients. The project's annual Helena Area Housing is Healthcare Summit was held in year one and year two of the grant period, attracting 150 and 200 attendees, respectively, and providing a vital platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration. The project is committed to sustaining these achievements by seeking donor support and additional grant funding, ensuring that housing remains a fundamental component of health care in the region.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2021

St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation 2021

Clinical Supervision for Integrated Behavioral Health Quality and Sustainability

The Intermountain Healthcare system used this grant to hire a clinical supervisor to support a team of nine behavioral health providers across the state at St. Vincent Hospital in Billings, Holy Rosary Hospital in Miles City, and St. James Hospital in Butte. The goal was to improve the quality of care and fidelity to the integrated behavioral health (IBH) model in primary care clinics, while also increasing engagement and retention for behavioral health specialists working in the clinics. The clinical supervisor provided direct supervision, coaching, and training to the team of behaviorists; developed quality and safety data monitoring systems; and executed strategic and sustainability plans. She attended professional development trainings to improve her work and has passed that knowledge on to those she supervises. As a result of this grant, Intermountain was able to improve retention among its behavioral health staff. Additionally, having a dedicated clinical supervisor experienced in IBH on board has led to at least three team members completing their post-graduate training hours and obtaining licensure. This increase in licensed clinicians opens billing opportunities and contributes to the long-term sustainability of IBH services. The team in Montana is currently assisting Intermountain Health's behavioral health teams in Colorado and Utah to replicate this model.

Grant Amount

$150,000

Term

24 month

2021

United Way of Yellowstone County 2021

Billings Permanent Supportive Housing Implementation

United Way of Yellowstone County used this grant to build on its previous Housing is Health Care Initiative planning grant to develop permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for people in Billings who are homeless and have complex medical and behavioral health conditions. United Way sponsors Yellowstone County’s Homelessness Continuum of Care (CoC), which comprises more than 20 partners, including government offices, housing providers, mental health care providers, hospitals, and more. The CoC completed a work plan that outlines each partner's roles, responsibilities, and commitments; defines the program model based on community needs, feasibility, and sustainability; and identifies a property for the community’s first PSH development. HomeFront, the local housing authority, has agreed to reserve a lot it owns in a prime downtown location. A funding committee was created to seek out various grant opportunities, a budget was developed, and a developer was identified. Montana State University – Billings will provide data development and sharing, an evaluation system to track client outcomes, and a feasibility study. With a grant from United Way, the CoC hired a coordinator to oversee the work plan implementation and support the committees formed to move the project forward, including funding, building, operations, services, communications, and program committees.

Grant Amount

$98,400

Term

24 month

2021

University of Montana Foundation 2021

Development and Implementation of the Montana Prevention Certification Board

The goal of this grant was to establish the Montana Prevention Certification Board (MPCB) through the Montana Public Health Training Center (MPHTC). Through establishing professional certification standards for prevention specialists, the new board is intended to increase the supply of well-trained substance use prevention professionals. The board will accomplish this by strengthening the knowledge and skills base of prevention providers, creating a supportive peer network, establishing career paths, and providing active recruitment and cross-training. During the grant MPCB created an eight-member board and hired a board administrator. MPCB achieved its goal of becoming a member of the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium, a national body that grants reciprocity from state to state, sets standards for credentials, and administers a national prevention specialist examination. MPCB has already credentialed six applicants, and 35 more are in process. It has been marketing its certification through in-person events, a website, and social media. MPCB has received funding from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to support the development of prevention-related training.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2021

Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch (YBGR) 2021

Beaverhead County Crisis Response Task Force

The Beaverhead County Crisis Response Coalition used this planning grant to improve access to the county's crisis-related mental and behavioral health services. The project's goals were to identify strengths and weaknesses in the current crisis response protocols and work to build a comprehensive crisis system that improves access to critical community care while reducing inappropriate contacts with law enforcement and the hospital emergency department. The Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, a nonprofit mental health and substance use disorder treatment organization, led the project, working closely with a collaborative group of community leaders from health care, law enforcement, schools, government, and social service. Funding was used to hire a project coordinator who performed data research, administrative duties, stakeholder engagement, and consultant coordination. The consultants were hired to assist with county-wide mapping, strategic planning, and data analysis. The project built and strengthened its coalition membership, completed the sequential intercept mapping (SIM) process that identified prioritized goals, and applied for and received a Crisis Diversion Grant from the state to continue its work and begin the implementation phase. The Crisis Diversion Grant will provide additional funding opportunities from various private and public sources.

Grant Amount

$49,428

Term

12 month

2021

Youth Dynamics 2021

Becoming an ARC-Informed Agency

Youth Dynamics (YDI) provides family-focused behavioral health treatment in 30 locations throughout the state. Nearly 90% of the youth it works with have experienced severe trauma and have problematic behaviors associated with that trauma. YDI used this grant to implement the attachment, regulation, and competency (ARC) framework to provide more effective interventions for youth who have been traumatized and reduce the number of young people sent to out-of-state facilities. Grant funds were used to hire an ARC consultant for several assessments, provide training, and conduct team consultations for the first year of implementation. YDI incorporated the ARC framework model into its services and culture. Its accomplishments include training staff so that ARC principles were reflected in their direct work with clients, updating organizational procedures and processes to use ARC language, integrating ARC principles into youth satisfaction surveys to ensure client feedback addressed the new approaches, and redesigning the individual treatment plan template to use the ARC strength-based trauma-informed care approach. Certain staff members were designated as ARC champions to promote ARC principles among staff and ensure the ARC language used was culturally appropriate for YDI clients. YDI also introduced the ARC framework and key concepts to families and community partners.

Grant Amount

$34,050

Term

24 month

2021

YWCA Great Falls 2021

Great Falls Housing is Healthcare Data Project

YWCA Great Falls used this grant to enhance the Great Fall's Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) database to improve the tracking of housing vouchers and service utilization for those identified as homeless or at high-risk of homelessness, and to identify housing and service gaps in the community. During the project, community partners were able to place 35 people experiencing chronic homelessness – including many people with complex medical conditions – into housing. The project updated Great Falls’ “coordinated entry” homelessness screening tool to capture more detailed information and expanded the network of organizations entering information into the coordinated entry system, which now includes more of the community's available beds. This enhanced information helped Great Falls secure funding from the Montana Continuum of Care to support the development of the Baatz Building, which will be the community's first single-site permanent supportive housing project.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2021