El Centro Family Health Announces SAMHSA Grant
El Centro Family Health Behavioral Health Division Receives SAMHSA Grant on September 7, 2021.
– SAMHSA grant provides funding for ECFH I-SUD department.
Española, NM – September 24, 2021 – El Centro Family Health, a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), was awarded a 5-year grant of $525,000 per year from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). ECFH will receive a total of about $2.5 million.
The organization “proposes to reduce illicit opioid and prescription drug misuse and increase the number of individuals gaining MAT [Medication Assisted Treatment] services in Northern New Mexico, targeting adults who are experiencing Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) as the focus population. ECFH provides integrated health care services to more than 21,000 patients through almost 90,000 encounters via a network of primary care clinics that consist of three dental clinics, nine school-based health centers, and 13 medical and behavioral health clinics.”
The SAMHSA grant made it possible for ECFH to establish the Integrated Substance Use Disorder (I-SUD) department. Chelsea R. Lucero, LPCC, LADAC, NCC, is the Department Director. She is also the Behavioral Health Manager for the East Region and was recently named 2021 Behavioral Health Provider of the Year by the New Mexico Primary Care Association (NMPCA).
Chelsea says of the grant, “Thanks to SAMHSA, El Centro will now be able to expand its outpatient Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program, therefore solidifying a key component in our collaborative regional comprehensive recovery services initiative.”
Chelsea describes the mission of I-SUD as “strengthening the integration between primary care and behavioral health when treating patients with substance use disorders. With frighteningly national, state, and local overdose death rate increases from 2019 to 2020, ECFH is positioned to protect our most vulnerable patients. The I-SUD department focuses on improving care and outcomes with ECFH patients and providers. Thus, leading to a better understanding of persons with substance use disorders and the trauma link these disorders, therefore improving treatment for substance use patients, implementing trauma-informed practices, and creating a trauma-informed environment.”
I-SUD MAT services will be accessible in the 13 ECFH primary care clinics throughout the seven-county region. Telehealth services are included as well.
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About El Centro Family Health
El Centro Family Health provides affordable, accessible, quality healthcare to the people of Northern New Mexico. Our network of clinics and cooperative programs offers vital health services such as medical, dental, behavioral health, and basic health education in a nurturing and supportive environment. We serve the people of this region and strive to preserve the unique culture, traditions, and history that define life in Northern New Mexico.
For more information, go to www.ecfh.org