WATERVILLE – HealthReach Community Health Centers has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF). The planning grant is aimed at integrating behavioral health into the medical services offered at the health centers of HealthReach that serve 32,000 area residents each year. The centers are located in Albion, Bingham, Belgrade, Bethel, Coopers Mills, Kingfield, Livermore Falls, Madison, Rangeley, Richmond and Strong.
“We are pleased that MeHAF recognizes the tremendous need in Maine for more accessible mental health and substance abuse services available on site where people receive health care for themselves and their family members,” said Connie Coggins, HealthReach President/CEO.
Emma Ansara, Family Nurse Practitioner at HealthReach’s Livermore Falls location, will lead the project. “As a medical provider at Western Maine Family Health Center, I see a number of patients who will benefit from guidance in handling the behavioral changes necessary to better manage their chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.”
Through the MeHAF grant, HealthReach Community Health Centers will be obtaining consultation from another Maine Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Sacopee Valley Health Center (Porter, Maine), to develop a model of behavioral health care integrated into the primary care setting.
The Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF), founded in 2000, is the largest health care foundation in Maine. Each year MeHAF provides approximately $5 million in grants and program funding across the state to expand access to health care. MeHAF was established as a result of the sale of the not-for-profit Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Maine to the for-profit Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Maine. MeHAF is committing $1.2 million in funds for the first year of these new integration projects, which begin January 2009. Eight grants are for one-year planning projects and nine grants support three-year projects. For more, click on: www.mehaf.org
HealthReach Community Health Centers is a system of eleven federally qualified health centers in central and western Maine. Dedicated providers deliver first-class health care to citizens in over 80 rural communities. To ensure access for everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineCare, major insurances and offers an Affordable Care Program based on family size and income to uninsured and underinsured residents. A private, non-profit organization with a 30-year history, HealthReach is funded by patient fees, grants and individual donations. For more, click on: www.HealthReachCHC.org
