Juneau Alliance for Mental Health, Inc. has been awarded a four-year federal grant to provide integrated services through the co-location of primary care medical services and behavioral healthcare at their community behavioral health center on Glacier Highway. The project is slated to begin Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
The project is \u201cfunded by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration,\u201d said executive director Pam Watts. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe program\u2019s objective is to support the triple aim of improving the health of individuals with serious mental illness and those with co-occurring disorders, enhancing their experience of care, and reducing\/controlling the per capita cost of care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
JAMHI will expand their evidence-based practices to include medical care, physical health, prevention and wellness interventions. Additions to their staff will include a primary care provider, wellness coordinator, peer support specialist and nurse care coordinator.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have long known that people with serious mental illness experience a higher incidence of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol and other health problems than do others, and now we have an opportunity to turn the tide,\u201d Watts said.<\/p>\n
According to Watts, these conditions and increased mortality can be attributed to a number of issues including inadequate physical activity and poor nutrition, smoking, side effects of medications and lack of access to health care services.<\/p>\n
Many of these health conditions are preventable through routine health promotion activities, primary care screening, monitoring, treatment and care management\/coordination and other outreach programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"