Integral Care has been awarded a grant for $124,697 from Austin Public Health (APH) to provide community-based services across the continuum of care by hiring two additional Qualified Mental Health Professionals (QMHPs). The addition of one clinic-based Intake QMHP, and one Community Health Worker QMHP will build Integral Care’s intake and re-engagement capacity. By hiring a clinic-based intake QMHP, Integral Care will build our overall intake capacity.
 
With the addition of an intake QMHP at Integral Care’s newest clinic, Stonegate, we will be able to decrease the workload of the existing staff, in turn reducing burnout, while increasing client satisfaction by decreasing wait times and ensuring that all individuals are seen for their intake appointment. Additionally, Integral Care will also add a Community Health Worker (CHW) QMHP who resides in the community they serve. This CHW will provide culturally appropriate health education and information to promote health equity and reach underserved communities. The CHW will play a strategic role in outreach and engagement, promoting communication and understanding between community members and providers, increasing use of health services in a community, improving adherence to health recommendations, and decreasing use of emergency services. The CHW will help families recognize early signs of mental illness and substance use disorder and encourage community members to get appropriate screenings for behavioral health conditions before they reach a crisis.
 
By providing this service where clients live, Integral Care can more effectively reach individuals in underserved communities, including minority and low-income populations who face numerous barriers to healthcare access, and connect them to appropriate care. These staff will provide trauma-informed screening, assessment, diagnosis, and patient-centered treatment planning and treatment delivery. Additionally, Integral Care will partner with various community agencies to provide ongoing integrated care. Currently, Integral Care has collaborations with CommUnity Care and Lonestar Circle of Care to provide integrated Primary Care within our clinic settings. Through this grant, Integral Care will identify needs through intake and community-based services and leverage existing resources and partnerships to refer individuals to the most appropriate services.