Well Care Community Health has received what its officials call a significant federal grant to increase its behavioral health and substance use disorder services in Wayne and additional counties.
The Richmond-based nonprofit will receive $1.1 million over two years to add staff.
The funding is part of a nationwide initiative to integrate mental health and substance use disorder treatment into primary care.
Well Care officials say the grant will significantly enhance its capacity to address the increasingly urgent mental health and substance use disorder needs of the communities it serves in Wayne, Fayette, Union, Clark and Scott counties.
Well Care, a federally qualified health center, has four locations. Its Richmond clinic at 203 E. Main St. offers medical, behavioral and dental service. It also offers a dental office at 100 Mattie Harris Road in Centerville. The other offices are called Foundations Family Medicine in Austin and Henryville.
Grant funds will expand Well Care’s behavioral health and substance use disorder teams.
New key positions include a psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, two nurse practitioners, case manager, community health worker and an addiction coach.
The new team members will strengthen Well Care’s ability to provide timely, culturally competent mental health and substance use disorder treatment along with primary care, the organization’s news release said.
“This grant represents a significant opportunity for Well Care Community Health to enhance our behavioral health and substance use disorder services and meet the growing needs of our community,” said Eric Coulter, Well Care CEO, in the release.
Coulter said Well Care’s mission is to remove obstacles that underserved groups experience in accessing quality care, regardless of their insurance or financial status.
Nearly 10,000 patients in Indiana and Ohio currently see Well Care’s medical, behavioral and/or dental providers each year.
Well Care offers a range of services designed to make care more accessible, including health coaching, sliding scale payment options, transportation assistance and language interpretation.
The grant, announced by the Health Resources and Services Administration, is part of a $240 million government investment to add accessible, high-quality behavioral health services.
Well Care is one of six health centers in Indiana to receive this new mental health funding. Each receives $600,000 in the first year, followed by $500,000.
The release noted the expansion of local behavioral and substance use disorder services aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s Unity Agenda, which prioritizes tackling the nation’s mental health and opioid crises.
“Access to behavioral health care is critical for communities of color and underserved groups,” said Xavier Becerra, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services secretary, in the release. “HRSA-funded health centers have a proven record of success in reaching underserved communities. This funding expands their access to essential behavioral health services that will benefit entire communities.”
New services address behavioral health, substance use
More information about Well Care Community Health’s new behavioral health and substance use disorder services that serve residents of Wayne, Fayette, Union and two additional counties is available at 765-973-9369 or mywellcare.org.
A version of this article appeared in the October 30 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.