Indian Family Health Clinic 2019

Hope, Healing & Health in an Urban Indian Community

The Indian Family Health Center (IFHC) in Great Falls used this grant to develop and implement integrated behavioral health (IBH) services in its clinical and chemical dependency practices to serve the North Central Montana and Great Falls urban Indian communities. IFHC began by assessing its organizational readiness and identifying potential barriers to implementation. It then developed and initiated a plan, which included introducing and implementing care pathways for depression, suicide, and anxiety, as well as screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) protocols. IFHC implemented plans for making referrals to specialty care, tracking patients as they move from one level of care to another, and training staff on key elements of IBH. COVID-19 and other logistical problems posed challenges, but IFHC was able to continue providing care—through both in-person and telehealth services—and moved its IBH program forward. The IBH model is now a self-sustaining part of IFHC’s care delivery system.

Grant Amount

$150,000

Term

24 month

2019

Jefferson County Mental Health Local Advisory Council 2019

Support Our Youth Through Positive Parenting

Through this project, the Jefferson County Mental Health Local Advisory Council will partner with the Jefferson County Health Department to deliver positive parenting classes to the residents of Jefferson County. This project stems from the identification of behavioral health as a top health concern in Jefferson County’s community health assessment. To take an upstream approach to improving behavioral health in the county, the health department and school nurse will use the state health department’s online parenting program, Parenting Montana, and a parenting curriculum known as “positive parenting” to encourage parenting practices that support the healthy child development. Grant funds will be used to purchase training materials and support program staff time to deliver the training and to work with community partners to identify good venues for program delivery. Partners involved in this project include the local advisory committee, county health department, local library, school nurse, elementary school, and Head Start. The overarching goal of this project is to establish healthy parenting practices that will support both parents and children and prevent behavioral health issues

Grant Amount

$11,642

Term

12 month

2019

Livingston HealthCare Foundation 2019

Livingston HealthCare’s Perinatal Behavioral Health and Substance Use Treatment Pathway

This project will allow Livingston Healthcare (LHC) to reduce the adverse outcomes of perinatal behavioral health conditions for mothers, newborns, and their families in the Park County region. The project will do this by developing team-based, early intervention and coordinated care between LHC providers and local resources and agencies. Grant funds will be primarily used to develop care pathways to address substance use and mental health referrals, staff training, and marketing and outreach services. Partnerships include the Park County Health Department and Community Health Partners. The project’s overall goal is to increase the number of women in the community who receive appropriate prenatal care, increase the number of perinatal patients who receive behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment, decrease crisis encounters for this population, and decrease incidences of children removed from families due to guardian substance abuse.

Grant Amount

$81,265

Term

24 month

2019

Messengers for Health 2019

Sustaining the Báa nnilah program for improved holistic health for Apsáalooke people

Through this project, Messengers for Health will explore ways to bill for the services they provided through the Báa nnilah Program. Messengers for Health serve the Crow community and uses a cultural approach to provide health information and link Crow people to health services. Grant funds will be used to work with consultants (Mary Dalton and Big Horn Valley Health Center) and support the training of peer support specialists. Messengers for Health has an existing relationship with Bighorn Valley Health Center and leadership from Bighorn have expressed enthusiasm in exploring ways to support the Báa nnilah Program through potential revenue generation. The overarching goal of this work is to identify ways to support the services being provided by the Báa nnilah Program by identifying sustainable sources of revenue through billing for services.

Grant Amount

$14,857

Term

12 month

2019

Missoula Aging Services 2019

Missoula Aging Services Co-Located Resource Specialist

Funding for this project allowed Missoula Aging Services (MAS) to place one of its resource specialists at the Partnership Health Center (PHC) one day a week. The goal was to reach previously unserved low- and moderate-income older adults and help them access services that will allow them to lead healthier lives and live as independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. The resource specialist assisted PHC patients and their caregivers with a variety of social support needs that impact social determinants of health, such as transportation, food, and housing. For example, the specialist assisted with screenings for Medicare and Medicaid eligibility and navigating these programs, identified housing and food insecurity needs, provided caregiving consultations and referrals for home modifications to prevent falls and injuries, and made secondary referrals to programs such as heating assistance and tax credits. This has served as a valuable pilot program, with MAS and PHC planning to establish satellite resource centers at other locations throughout the community in order to reach older adults in need of services right in their moment of crisis.

Grant Amount

$10,000

Term

12 month

2019

Missoula County 2019

Missoula Benefits: Exploring Options for Uninsured Residents

The goal of this project was to explore options for providing affordable health insurance to uninsured residents in Missoula County. Missoula County Commissioners, Missoula County Risk and Benefits, and Partnership Health Center worked together to determine the key demographic features of the uninsured in Missoula County; the viability of creating a local health insurance option built on Missoula County’s health insurance plan, and Partnership Health Center’s clinical resources; and the financial and organizational mechanics needed to create a health insurance program for county residents who are not currently insured through their employers or federal programs. The project developed a steering committee composed of leaders from the city, county, and local organizations. The committee reviewed benefit options from other states, learned about the complexities of insurance pools, contracted with a benefits expert to develop options for Missoula, and came to a better understanding of Montana’s insurance regulations. Missoula County analyzed the available data to determine who is in the insurance gap and what the level of need is for benefits support. The county also explored the feasibility of using an insurance product offered by the Montana Health Coop that would allow it to pay the co-pay for people served by Missoula’s two federally qualified health centers (Partnership Health Center and All Nations Health Center).

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana Continuum Care Coalition 2019

Supportive Housing Capacity Building in Montana

The Montana Continuum of Care Coalition (CoC) will review organizational models and develop strategic and data sharing plans to strengthen their structure. The Montana CoC is a critical organization that provides homeless shelter utilization data, homelessness resources, and demand information systems. It serves as a conduit for housing and urban development (HUD) resources for the state of Montana. This planning project will produce a work plan and develop data-sharing plans to align the various existing government information systems that track relevant statistics on homelessness and health outcomes. In turn, this will allow the CoC to better more effectively plan and collaborate with stakeholders to align services for Montana’s homeless and insecurely housed. The CoC will contract with the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) who will assess staffing and structure and facilitate strategic planning. Funds will be used for project coordination and to hire CSH as a technical assistance contractor. Partners include members of the Supportive Housing Innovation Accelerator Program Workgroup, which consists of the Montana Department of Commerce, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Service, and the CoC board of directors. The CoC’s goal for this project is to strengthen its capacity to apply for HUD grant funding successfully and build effective partnerships to meet the supportive housing needs across the state.

Grant Amount

$61,566

Term

24 month

2019

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services 2019

Community Integrated Healthcare Emergency Medical Services

This project will help the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) develop a framework to support the statewide implementation of community integrated healthcare (CIH). A part of the project, the DPHHS Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Trauma Systems will select six EMS pilot sites to begin providing CIH services. Each site will train EMS staff to provide an expanded range of services such as wound care, post-hospitalization follow-up, medication set ups, home safety checks, and other services in the home. At the end of the grant term, the pilot projects will be evaluated, and DPHHS will convene a payer group to consider reimbursement for CIH based upon the results. Grant funds will be used primarily for supporting pilot sites to implement CIH in their systems and for program evaluation. As part of the project, partnerships will be developed with regional hospitals, critical access hospitals, Indian Health Services, VA hospitals and clinics, local clinics and providers, and community stakeholders – all of whom are essential for implementing this project successfully. The goal of the program is to reduce unnecessary EMS transports and unwarranted emergency department visits, and to improve health outcomes among medically vulnerable patient populations, meet community health needs where there are current gaps, remove barriers to health, and address disparities also affecting health outcomes.

Grant Amount

$160,000

Term

24 month

2019

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services 2019

Behavioral Health Workshop for Public Health

This project will support staff from local and tribal health departments to attend a workshop on “Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Montana: The Role of Public Health.” This workshop, which will be held in Great Falls and Miles City, will provide information and training on frameworks, tools, resources, and funding available to support local and tribal public health departments to prevent and reduce substance abuse and mental illness in the communities they serve. The Public Health and Safety Division is partnering with the Addictive and Mental Disorders Division to create the workshop agenda, content, and identify speakers. Grant funding will be used to support travel costs for health department staff who may otherwise be unable to attend the workshop due to limited operational budgets. Tribal health and rural health department staff working in counties that have identified behavioral health as a top community health concern will be prioritized to receive a travel scholarship. The overarching goal of this work is to build the capacity of local and tribal health departments to prevent and reduce behavioral health concerns in the populations they serve.

Grant Amount

$10,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana Generational Justice Foundation 2019

Estate Planning to Prevent Health Care Exploitation and Fraud

The Montana Generational Justice Foundation partnered with hospitals and health care organizations across the state to provide legal services to patients. The services they offered patients included estate planning, health care power of attorney, and advanced directives. The grant’s advisory committee (with representatives from the Montana Hospital Association, Helena College Nursing Program, Veterans Affairs, the National Guard, medical providers, and lawyers) created an advanced directive document for statewide use. The advanced directive document will be available on the MSU Extension Services website. As part of this project, the Montana Generational Justice Foundation also created an initial sustainability plan to offer legal services at health care clinics across the state using a set fee covered by the health organization.

Grant Amount

$30,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana Health Plus 2019

Integrated School Based Healthcare

This project will support screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) implementation in school-based health centers. Through this grant, the Montana Primary Care Association (MPCA) will support six federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that provide school-based health services to implement SBIRT, coordinate with the technical assistance provider (the School-Based Health Alliance), and assist with data collection. MPCA coordinates many activities that support clinical improvement for Montana’s FQHCs, and recently, has developed a strong focus on behavioral health. This grant will increase the capacity of school-based health centers to identify and treat substance use in the students they serve.

Grant Amount

$130,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana Health Research and Education Foundation 2019

Survey of Statewide Emergency Medical System Capacity and Threat in Montana

This grant allowed the Montana Health Research and Education Foundation (MHREF) to conduct a survey and analysis of emergency medical services (EMS) capacity in Montana in order to identify EMS gaps, analyze their impact on hospital services, and recommend solutions for filling those gaps. MHREF worked with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Division of EMS and Trauma to survey and interview 42 hospitals and 61 EMS organizations. A collaborative report between DPHHS, MHREF, and the consulting firm Eleva Group was completed, providing new information on the status of and threats to Montana's EMS system and recommendations for developing a successful and sustainable approach for improvement. Participating organizations are now convening a stakeholder group to implement the recommendations from the analysis.

Grant Amount

$24,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana Nonprofit Association 2019

Montana 2020 Census Outreach

This project was designed by the Montana Nonprofit Association (MNA) to build awareness of and engagement in Census 2020 in Montana’s 30 hardest to count communities, including the state’s seven American Indian reservations. This was accomplished by creating a strong coalition of partner organizations across the state, which together conducted a wide variety of outreach, coordination, and mobilization activities. MNA also hired a full-time census coordinator to assist with strengthening and facilitating these partnerships. Activities included outreach to both public-sector and private-sector leaders and organizations, advertisements in newspapers, earned media, mailings of postcards and fliers, posts and contests on social media platforms, and phone calls to households. MNA awarded mini-grants to 22 nonprofit organizations to help reach hard-to-count communities, such as Spanish-speaking, LGBTQ+, refugee, and youth populations. The association was also able to secure $120,000 in CARES Act funding to support its efforts that were disrupted by COVID-19, including outreach to rural communities. Tier I hard-to-count counties saw an average self-response increase of 18.33%, and Tier II counties saw an average self-response increase of 12.97%, compared to an increase of 5.38% in all other counties.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana Rescue Mission 2019

Capacity Building Assessment to Address the Mental Health Needs of the Homeless in Billings

Through this project, MRM hopes to provide on-site behavioral health services to the population they serve in order to address the root health issues associated with homelessness and a primary barrier to achieving stable housing and employment. Grant funds will be used to support staff time and contract for technical assistance with Aune Associates. With technical assistance, MRM plans to work with RiverStone Health and other health providers in Billings to provide behavioral health services and explore opportunities to enter into shared revenue agreements. The goal of this project is to provide needed behavioral health services to a vulnerable population and explore ways to create stable revenue to decrease dependence on grants and donations.

Grant Amount

$15,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana State University 2019

Dissemination of Rural Perioperative Surgical Home Model and Local Community Capacity Building

Montanans lack access to evidence-based perioperative surgical services, which include patient/family education, preoperative testing and assessment, care coordination across referral and specialty providers, provider co-management, and recovery coordination. A fully functional Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) currently operates at Bozeman Health. This project will extend PSH functions to nine additional Montana counties. The project addresses critical gaps in Montana’s perioperative care through engagement and collaboration with health partners; extension of PSH services; longitudinal tracking and evaluation of health outcomes for rural, remote and isolated patients; and, dissemination of an evidence-based rural model of PSH and a patient flow algorithm to aid other health entities to prepare patients and families for major surgery fully. Funding will be used for four engagement events located strategically among the nine target counties; longitudinal tracking and assessment of health outcomes by county; dissemination of patient outcome assessments back to the county health officials and practitioners. The health advisory council, lead extension specialist, and local extension agents will facilitate new and strengthen partnerships with community hospitals, critical access hospitals, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, independent practices, and health workers.

Grant Amount

$54,261

Term

24 month

2019

Montana State University - College of Nursing 2019

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment

This grant supported the Montana State University College of Nursing to develop and implement a curriculum on screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for substance use disorders (SUDs) for their family nurse practitioner and doctorate of nurse practice training programs. A total of 16 students in their second year of graduate studies received training over the course of four months, including both SBIRT and Kognito modules. All of the students said that the training was helpful and informative and would change the way they practice with regard to addressing SUDs. SBIRT training is now integrated as part of the curriculum and will be provided to all future students. Due to the COVID pandemic, the project was not able to conduct in-person training on campus for faculty, but development of the training modules for faculty was begun. Additionally, a module was put together for College of Nursing faculty in Bozeman who were interested in learning more about SBIRT concepts and how to integrate SBIRT into their courses.

Grant Amount

$15,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana State University Billings 2019

Planning Healthcare Expansion to Address Healthcare Needs in Eastern Montana

This planning grant was awarded to Montana State University Billings and City College to fund the development of a report that will serve as a roadmap for addressing the health care and nursing shortages in Eastern Montana. The report was developed by a consultant and many regional stakeholders, including Billings Clinic, SCL Health St. Vincent, and Eastern Montana Area Health Education Center (AHEC). It identified the issues that must be addressed, such as expanding and restructuring educational programs, providing internship opportunities, hiring more faculty, and gaining accreditation approval. The report will be utilized to prioritize budgeting, build partnerships, and fundraise to meet the evolving needs of the industry. Plans are currently underway to develop AAS degrees in sonography and medical coding. The partnership model implemented for respiratory therapy with Great Falls College will serve as guidance for future program development. City College's new chancellor will work with stakeholders to review recommendations from the report and incorporate them into the college's course planning.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana State University Billings 2019

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment

The Montana State University-Billings College of Nursing will develop and implement a curriculum to train entry-level and advanced practice nursing students in how to use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to identify and provide effective initial treatment for people with undiagnosed substance use disorders. Both programs will be delivered online to students, many of whom are already working in health care settings throughout the state. As part of this project, MSU will use an online training program designed to help practitioners build their skills in delivering brief interventions, and will work with a technical assistance provider to develop the onlinecurriculum. Funding will be used to cover the instructor’s time to develop the curriculum and cover the licensing costs of the online platform.

Grant Amount

$15,000

Term

12 month

2019

Montana State University Foundation 2019

Working Together to Respond to Farmers & Ranchers Under Stress in Rural Montana

This project will create the first statewide network focused on stresses that affect farmers and ranchers in Montana. The project will form a Montana Farm/Ranch Stress Prevention Advisory Council comprising of members from the agricultural, health, tribal, veteran, local government, and Montana State University communities. This council will oversee the creation of an online clearinghouse of stress prevention and mitigation resources as well as a variety of radio/television/podcast/webinar educational resources. Funding will be used to convene the Advisory Council as well as to develop and market the online clearinghouse and educational resources throughout Montana. The project’s goals are to open the conversation about the causes and effects of stress, thereby destigmatizing conversation surrounding this topic, and to equip community members with evidence-based resources to assist them in managing their stress. These goals will ultimately lessen the risk of mental illness and suicide among Montana’s farming and ranching communities.

Grant Amount

$32,737

Term

12 month

2019

Montana State University Foundation 2019

Developing an Assessment of Climate Change and Human Health for Montana

This project will establish a collaboration of health and climate science experts to produce Montana’s first assessment of the impacts of climate change on human health. “Assessing Climate Change and Human Health in Montana” (C2H2 for short) will be released in 2020 as an online web resource and a printed document with associated outreach and educational materials and activities. C2H2 will present health-relevant climate information describing recent trends and future projections; explain how climate change affects aspects of human health; and offer practical recommendations to guide local, state, and tribal efforts to anticipate and adapt to climate-related health threats in Montana. The report will receive both public comment and scientific peer review before its release, and professional evaluation after release. The goal is to provide the best-available science and health-related data at a level that is easy to access and understand by communities, medical professionals, and policy makers in Montana. C2H2 will serve as a Special Report to the 2017 Montana Climate Assessment.

Grant Amount

$94,500

Term

24 month

2019

Mountain Shadow Association 2019

Kaala’s Village Development Project

Mountain Shadow Association (MSA), a Native-led nonprofit organization on the Crow Indian Reservation, originally intended to move a family healing center called Kaala’s Village from the proposal phase to the development phase. Working with consultants, it considered using a permanent supportive housing model but realized it would not fit with the identified community needs. So MSA and a group of community leaders decided to shift their focus to the creation of a youth mental health support center that would address the sexual abuse and violence that has affected youth in the community. The center was named Anii Watchiileesh Koo Waagoalic (asking good things for you) and was designed to be attuned to tribal culture, use the clan system, and be responsive to the crises youth are facing in their homes. MSA worked with the courts to develop an MOU to divert juvenile cases to restorative circles of support, where they can talk about their experiences and heal the harms done in a safe and supported place. MSA received a contract from DPHHS to create a crisis drop-in center that is staffed with peer support specialists and also has a contract with Frontier Psychiatry to provide crisis counseling. MSA believes this is a stepping stone toward the larger vision of Kaala’s Village, and the project’s advisory board continues to work towards this goal.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2019

Native American Development Corporation 2019

Implementing Integrated Behavioral Health and Billing to Achieve Sustainability of Health Services for American Indians in Billings

This project will implement a culturally appropriate integrated behavioral health model and third-party billing office into the new Billings Urban Indian Health and Wellness Center. The center is currently providing primary care along with limited specialized mental health and substance use disorder services. This grant will expand upon this work by supporting a billing and coding position along with two new behavioral health provider positions to provide services within the primary care clinic. As part of the project, the center will develop a scope of work for the integrated behavioral health staff and clear pathways for specialty care referrals. Partnerships have been established with RiverStone Health Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare and will continue to be strengthened throughout the course of this project.

Grant Amount

$150,000

Term

24 month

2019

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Board of Health 2019

T-HIP Planning and Implementation

This project helped the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Board of Health (NCTBH) plan for and implement Tier 1 of the Medicaid Tribal Health Improvement Program (T-HIP). T-HIP implementation coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which substantially impacted the project. The life expectancy for the people of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation is approximately 57 years for men and 61 years for women, nearly 20 years shorter than that of Caucasian Montanans. The overall goal of this project was to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases among this population and strengthen community action for improving the reservation’s overall health. Funds were used to hire a T-HIP director to oversee and implement Tier 1 over six months, as well as a medical director, but the medical director was not able to attend on site due to the pandemic. Funding also went towards the purchase of Daphne software, which is used to manage clients, document encounters, create care/action plans, schedule appointments, conduct assessments and surveys, and generate required T-HIP reports. One significant accomplishment was the hiring of four drivers to provide crucial transportation services for patients needing to get to the hospital in Billings. The project helped the Tribe conduct COVID-19 community surveillance testing that included 500 T-HIP clients. The T-HIP program is self-sustaining from Medicaid reimbursements, which will allow the program to continue building out Tier 1 implementation and to expand to Tier 2 and Tier 3 over the next couple of years.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2019

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Board of Health 2019

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Development

The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Board of Health will develop a strategic plan to create a drug court component to the Northern Cheyenne Recovery Center. Many tribal communities have used the Tribal Healing to Wellness Court successfully. Developing this model will help solidify partnerships with the between the tribal health and judicial systems and enable the Tribe to develop an intensive case management approach for clients, implement team “wrap around” meetings, and provide family therapy and peer support. Funding will be used for staff training, and development of a strategic and state compliance plan.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2019

Partnership Health Center 2019

Redesigning School Based Behavioral Health at Willard Alternative High School in Missoula, Montana

Partnership Health Center and the Missoula Public Schools will establish a school-based health center at the city's alternative high school. The project will target a high-risk population with over 50% of the students being homeless. The funds will be usedto employ a behavioral health provider at the alternative school and enableschool leadership to participate fully in the project. During the implementation phase, the partners will explore the need for and feasibility of expanding to providing medical and dental services. The grantwill also strengthen the existing school-based health center at Lowell Elementary with goals of expanding school-based health throughout the school district.The Missoula School District utilizesa “multi-tiered system of support”(MTSS) to address social and emotional needs for youth, which is critical to success of the project. The school anticipates thisprogram improving health outcomesand attendance, decreasing disciplinary events, and increasing overall school success.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2019

Partnership Health Center 2019

Missoula Strategic Alliance for Improved Behavioral Health and Well-being

The Missoula community will develop a crisis diversion program by redesigning the behavioral health crisis system. A crisis diversion program can help reduce emergency department admissions, criminal justice encounters, and recidivism. Too often, people who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis end up in the emergency department or in encounters with law enforcement, rather than receiving appropriate care. Providing behavioral health care to people in crisis can de-escalate the crisis, improve outcomes, and reduce the need for higher-cost emergency and law enforcement interventions. Partnership Health Center will serve as the backbone organization, providing project oversight and coordination. Project partners include Providence Health System, Community Medical Center, Western Montana Mental Health Center, Missoula Urban Indian Alliance, and the Missoula Mayor and County Sheriff. The group’s work will be guided by a formal charter that establishes shared goals and expectations. Grant funds will be used to employ a project coordinator and contract for data analytics and sharing among partners. The project will begin by assessing how current health care and corrections resources are used to respond to people in a behavioral health crisis. Guided by the findings and informed by research on best practices, the partners will then develop and implement a new crisis diversion system that uses existing resources more efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of people in crisis.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2019

Providence Montana Health Foundation 2019

Providence Medical Group Integrated Behavioral Health Network Grant

Through this project, Providence Medical Group will spread the integrated behavioral health model from Grant Creek Family Medicine across the Western Montana Service Area by hiring additional licensed clinical social workers to provide coverage and developing a psychiatric consultation model to support nine primary care clinics. Through the addition of LCSWs to the staff in the primary care setting, Providence seeks to provide a seamless care journey for patients to manage their mental health, behavioral health, and comorbid conditions, and to encourage patients to be inherently involved in their treatment plan, care goals, and care plan. Grant funding will be used primarily for staffing the project and for consultation with the National Council for Behavioral Health. Partners include Providence Western Montana psychiatric services, which includes the Urgent Mental Health clinic, inpatient services, and psychiatry.

Grant Amount

$200,000

Term

24 month

2019

Providence Montana Health Foundation 2019

Medical Legal Partnership at Providence St. Patrick Hospital

Providence St. Patrick Hospital (SPH) partnered with the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) to launch the state’s first hospital-based medical-legal partnership. The Providence Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) project involved hiring a dedicated MLSA staff attorney to help hospital patients with their civil legal needs. It targeted three key populations that regularly confront civil-legal issues that impede their health: people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, people with mental illness, and older adults who are socially vulnerable. The staff attorney provided both direct service to patients and guidance to medical providers and social workers in legal matters specific to a patient’s case. The attorney also offered training on common civil-legal problems and barriers patients face. Hospital staff referred patients to the attorney for eligibility screening and potential civil legal assistance. Through December 28, 2021, 184 patients were referred to MLSA via the MLP. Additionally, a steady increase in the average number of referrals per month occurred. An average of 5.5 patients were referred per month in the first quarter of the project, and that increased to an average of 13 patients referred per month in the most recent quarter of the project. SPH has commitments from Providence leadership to fund the project in 2022 with community benefit resources and is engaged with the Providence Foundation for continued support.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2019

PureView Health Center 2019

Implementation of East Helena SBHC

PureView Health Center, Intermountain, andtheEast Helena School District will establish a school-based health center in East Helena.Thisproject establishes new partnerships between PureView (a community health center), Intermountain (a behavioral health provider), and the East Helena School District.The grant will support participation by key leadership, the development of informatics, and training for clinical and medical staff to successfully implement the project.The health center is based in the elementary school but will serve the entire school district and will be open to the public. Medical, behavioral health, and dental serviceswillbe provided.The school anticipates this program will improvehealth outcomesandattendance, decreasedisciplinary events, and increaseoverall school success.

Grant Amount

$70,000

Term

24 month

2019

Rimrock Foundation 2019

Strengthening Crisis Response and Diversion in Frontier Counties in Eastern Montana

Rimrock and the Eastern Montana Community Health Center (EMCHC) will develop a program that reduces emergency department admissions and criminal justice encounters and recidivism in five Eastern Montana communities (Dawson, Prairie, Richland, Rosebud, Valley). Too often, people in crisis end up in the emergency department or in encounters with law enforcement, rather than receiving behavioral health care that could de-escalate the crisis, improve outcomes, and reduce the need for higher-cost emergency and law enforcement interventions. Rimrock will serve as the “backbone” organization, providing project oversight and coordinating partners. The project will collect data and analyze the existing behavioral health crisis system and resource allocation, update the sequential intercept mapping for the region, implement peer support, and revamp the current behavioral health crisis response. Funding will be used to hire a project coordinator and a peer support supervisor, train project partners, and assist with sequential intercept mapping. Project partners include the hospital leadership and county commissioners in each participating community as well as the Montana Health Network. The project’s goal is to provide community members who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis with timely access to behavioral health care and peer support.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2019

RiverStone Health 2019

SBIRT Screening and Treatment at School Based Health Center

This project helped RiverStone Health develop a curriculum and training to implement screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to identify and treat substance use disorders (SUDs) in adolescent patients. RiverStone established a standardized and universal SBIRT process to identify, reduce, and prevent problematic use, misuse, and dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs at its two school-based health centers—an elementary and middle school. RiverStone developed a standardized SBIRT workflow for its school-based health clinics, trained school-based health center staff in SBIRT, and worked with school and health partners to implement the process. In total, 270 youth were screened for SUDs. SBIRT reporting is now integrated into RiverStone's quality metrics and will continue as an expectation for school-based health centers. 

Grant Amount

$15,000

Term

12 month

2019

Rocky Mountain College 2019

SBIRT Curriculum and Training Development

This grant supported Rocky Mountain College to develop and implement a curriculum to train physician assistant (PA) students in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for substance use disorders (SUDs). The training was provided to 72 PA students, many of whom will practice in Montana. Students learned the adolescent SBIRT screening and other screening modalities; intervention, referral, and treatment; and appropriate follow-up procedures. Students demonstrated significant gains in confidence, readiness, and competence in the implementation of SBIRT. Two faculty members have been trained as SBIRT trainers, and the SBIRT curriculum is now part of the PA required curriculum, ensuring the sustainability of SBIRT training and curriculum for future PA classes.  

Grant Amount

$4,138

Term

12 month

2019

Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council 2019

Supporting the RMTLC Health Sub-Committee with a Health Policy Analyst / Indian Health Care Advisor

This grant helped the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leader's Council (RMTLC) re-establish a health sub-committee composed of representatives from each Tribe and an Urban Indian Health Center representative. The sub-committee meets quarterly to provide tribes and key partners a forum to discuss health policy directly impacting tribal members and to make recommendations to the RMTLC regarding Indian Health Services and other health services, including Montana Medicaid, the Tribal Health Improvement Program, and other medical services accessed by tribal members. The sub-committee chairperson will bring the sub-committee’s recommendations to the quarterly RMTLC board of directors meeting for action. Funding was used to hire a health policy analyst to provide support, leadership, and guidance to the sub-committee. Responsibilities of the analyst include coordinating quarterly meetings, communicating with committee members, providing expert policy analysis, and developing policy papers and recommendations. The analyst also serves as a liaison to the American Indian Health Leaders group, facilitating collaboration and coordination between RMTLC and the Tribal and urban Indian health center directors. 

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

12 month

2019

Salish Kootenai College 2019

Four-Year Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree to Increase Native American Nurses in Montana

This project will develop a four-year Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN) at Salish Kootenai College (SKC). SKC’s mission is to provide quality education for Native American students so they can improve the lives of their families and the communities in which they live. The Indian Health Service (which only hires only BSN graduates), has hospitals and clinics on every reservation in Montana which means that BSN graduates will have a much better chance of finding employment opportunities in their own communities. Funding will be used to fund the staff time needed for development and implementation of the BSN program. The goal of this project is to graduate BSN students, particularly Native Americans, who can return to their home communities and reservations to decrease health disparities through the provision of culturally congruent care.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2019

Smiles Across Montana 2019

Expanding Smiles Across Montana Services

Smiles Across Montana will expand the reach of their mobile dental clinic to serve rural and tribal communities across the state. The program will focus on providing dental hygiene services and oral hygiene education to children and Medicaid recipients. Funds will be used to support networking, planning, and implementing the mobile dental clinic’s services into new facilities and communities. As part of the project, Smiles Across Montana will prioritize developing strong partnerships which will help them increase access to preventative oral health services in rural Montana and make referrals to higher level of dental care as needed. The project’s goal is to bring equitable oral health to all Montanans and to work together with other programs to improve the overall health of Montana’s most vulnerable populations.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2019

St. James Healthcare Foundation 2019

BSB FUSE: Butte-Silver Bow Supportive Housing Development Project

The goal of the Butte housing project was to create permanent supportive housing for people with complex medical needs who are experiencing chronic homelessness. Participants would be provided with housing and mental health case management, as well as comprehensive health and mental health services to improve their health outcomes and reduce the costs of providing medical, corrections, and other services to this population. The project partners, which included a variety of health care, housing, and community organizations, discovered that the most important and challenging aspect was the creation of wraparound support services to help individuals remain in housing, rather than the housing itself. The grantee created a five-person team of community health workers who offer supportive services, including entry into medical and behavioral health care, case management, and coordination with other service providers. These community health workers attend weekly meetings and update the partners on the services available to meet participants’ needs. The project also created a partnership with the county to identify funding and complete a preliminary architectural report to find potential sites for 16 integrated permanent supportive housing units. In 2021, 15 people were housed and received supportive services. Emergency department use for one of the residents fell from 37 visits the year prior to the grant to one visit in 2021. This program was initially funded by St. James Healthcare to house the support team at the local Community Health Center. The health center now sustains the team through internal funding.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2019

St. James Healthcare Foundation 2019

Butte-Silver Bow Strategic Alliance for Improved Mental Health and Wellbeing

The Butte-Silver Bow Community will develop a plan to redesign its behavioral health crisis system to reduce emergency department admission and criminal justice encounters and recidivism. Too often, people in crisis end up in the emergency department or in encounters with law enforcement, rather than receiving behavioral health care that could de-escalate the crisis, improve outcomes, and reduce the need for higher-cost emergency and law enforcement interventions. St. James Healthcare will serve as the “backbone” organization, providing project oversight and partner coordination. This project brings together new and existing partners including St. James Healthcare, the Southwest Montana Community Health Center, the Butte-Silver Bow Sherriff, Butte-Silver Bow Health Department, Action Inc., and the Western Montana Mental Health Center. The partners have established a formal charter that outlines goals and expectations and each organization’s commitments. The project will collect data and analyze the existing behavioral health crisis system and resource allocation, research best practices, and develop a plan for prevention and intervention strategies. Funding will be used to employ a facilitator for sequential intercept mapping, as well as meeting and travel expenses. Ultimately, the project will create a plan to redesign the crisis system by using existing resources differently and identifying key implementation activities.

Grant Amount

$34,200

Term

12 month

2019

St. James Healthcare Foundation 2019

Butte-Silver Bow Strategic Alliance for Improved Mental Health and Wellbeing

The Butte-Silver Bow Community will develop a plan to redesign its behavioral health crisis system to reduce emergency department admission and criminal justice encounters and recidivism. Too often, people in crisis end up in the emergency department or in encounters with law enforcement, rather than receiving behavioral health care that could de-escalate the crisis, improve outcomes, and reduce the need for higher-cost emergency and law enforcement interventions. St. James Healthcare will serve as the “backbone” organization, providing project oversight and partner coordination. This project brings together new and existing partners including St. James Healthcare, the Southwest Montana Community Health Center, the Butte-Silver Bow Sherriff, Butte-Silver Bow Health Department, Action Inc., and the Western Montana Mental Health Center. The partners have established a formal charter that outlines goals and expectations and each organization’s commitments. The project will collect data and analyze the existing behavioral health crisis system and resource allocation, research best practices, and develop a plan for prevention and intervention strategies. Funding will be used to employ a facilitator for sequential intercept mapping, as well as meeting and travel expenses. Ultimately, the project will create a plan to redesign the crisis system by using existing resources differently and identifying key implementation activities.

Grant Amount

$34,200

Term

12 month

2019

St. James Healthcare Foundation 2019

BSB FUSE: Butte-Silver Bow Supportive Housing Development Project

The goal of the Butte housing project was to create permanent supportive housing for people with complex medical needs who are experiencing chronic homelessness. Participants would be provided with housing and mental health case management, as well as comprehensive health and mental health services to improve their health outcomes and reduce the costs of providing medical, corrections, and other services to this population. The project partners, which included a variety of health care, housing, and community organizations, discovered that the most important and challenging aspect was the creation of wraparound support services to help individuals remain in housing, rather than the housing itself. The grantee created a five-person team of community health workers who offer supportive services, including entry into medical and behavioral health care, case management, and coordination with other service providers. These community health workers attend weekly meetings and update the partners on the services available to meet participants’ needs. The project also created a partnership with the county to identify funding and complete a preliminary architectural report to find potential sites for 16 integrated permanent supportive housing units. In 2021, 15 people were housed and received supportive services. Emergency department use for one of the residents fell from 37 visits the year prior to the grant to one visit in 2021. This program was initially funded by St. James Healthcare to house the support team at the local Community Health Center. The health center now sustains the team through internal funding.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2019

St. Luke Community Healthcare Foundation 2019

Integrated Behavioral Health Consolidation Grant

St. Luke Community Healthcare will implement integrated behavioral health in their critical access hospital and rural health clinic. As part of this project, they will develop a patient registry, adopt collaborative care billing, incorporate crisis management systems into integrated behavioral health, fully implement SBIRT (screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment), and initiate medication-assisted treatment. The project will use funds to staff a care coordinator position, establish psychiatric consultation, including training and consultation from the National Council for Behavioral Health, and provide enhancements to their patient registry. Through this project, St. Luke’s hopes to improve health outcomes and reduce costs by fully implementing their integrated behavioral health model. Additionally, they will make more formal efforts to partner with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to ensure effective alignment of resources and services for the Native American population. 

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2019

St. Peter's Health Foundation 2019

Reducing Adverse Outcomes of Perinatal Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders

This project will help St. Peter’s Health (SPH) work to reduce the adverse outcomes of perinatal mental illness and substance use disorders. The project will do this through implementing screening, treatment, and referral protocols; expanding integrated behavioral health services within SPH OB provider clinics and the inpatient women and children’s unit; expanding nurse care coordination staff and support resources in the Helena community; and developing applicable data management and reporting capabilities. Grant funds will be used primarily for hiring a behavioral health specialist and a care coordinator to help implement and support the project. Partnerships include Helena OB/GYN who will work with SPH to develop a community wide approach including outreach and development of partnership with the Women’s Clinic of Helena and Helena pediatric clinics. The project’s overall goal is to reduce substance abuse and stabilize mental health disorders in the perinatal and postpartum populations and reduce the necessity of Child Protective Services intervention and foster care removals.

Grant Amount

$150,000

Term

24 month

2019

St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation 2019

Lockwood Integrated School-Based Health Center

This project will strengthen Lockwood School’s progressive discipline and restorative practices while also strengthening the local continuum of health and behavioral health care available to students, their families, and the Lockwood community. The project will implement an integrated school-based health clinic at Lockwood Schools; the clinic will be staffed with health professionals from St. Vincent Healthcare and with behavioral health specialists employed by or interning at Lockwood Schools. Services will include screening for behavioral health concerns among primary care patients, providing brief treatment or referral for longer-term care, and aligning behavioral health care with the multi-tiered levels of support for students at Lockwood Schools. Grant funds will be used to provide key staff to the clinic, to include behavioral health specialists and nurse coordinators, and to help project leaders and partners (St. Vincent Healthcare, Lockwood Schools, and Walla Walla University-Billings) refine the clinic implementation plan and train Lockwood Schools staff in how to integrate the clinic’s services into their regular school day operations. The project’s overall goal is to improve the academic outcomes for all students at Lockwood Schools.

Grant Amount

$72,250

Term

24 month

2019

St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation 2019

Look Closer: Addressing Perinatal Behavioral Health in Eastern Montana

This project will help St. Vincent Healthcare increase access to mental health and substance use disorder care for pregnant women in Eastern Montana. The project will do this by developing an integrated prenatal care program and expanding it to four additional OB sites affiliated with St. Vincent Healthcare and Riverstone Health Center. Grant funds will primarily be used for hiring a prenatal services liaison who will provide coordination to women in all participating sites. Partners include Rimrock Treatment Center and associated prenatal care providers in Eastern Montana (Billings OB/GYN Associates, St. Vincent’s West Grand Family Medicine, St. Vincent Maternal Fetal Medicine, St. Vincent’s Midwifery and Women’s Health, and RiverStone Health). The project’s overall goals are to increase the rates of women who receive prenatal care and substance use disorder screening, intervention, and treatment, and to reduce the rate of infants who are substance-exposed before birth.

Grant Amount

$150,000

Term

24 month

2019

The City of Missoula, Office of Housing and Community Development 2019

Missoula FUSE Supportive Housing

The Missoula Supportive Housing Collaborative will implement a three-phase approach to providing housing, care coordination, and wrap around support for 53 people who are homeless and require frequent, high-cost medical services. This project will implement a 3-phase approach:  By August 2020, phase 1 will house people in housing sites scattered throughout Missoula and provide mobile services; by November 2020, phase 2 will house additional people in a cluster of housing units served by both on-site and mobile services; and by May 2022, the project will house 30-40 additional people in a newly-constructed supportive housing facility that incorporates a medical clinic with a wide array of medical, behavioral health, and supportive services. Grant funding will be used to pilot a service delivery model in the first two phases of the project which will help identify both the ideal configuration of services and innovative billing models that will integrate Medicaid and ensure the success and sustainability of the project. Partners include St. Patrick Hospital, Partnership Health Center, Open Aid Alliance, and the Poverello Center. Through strong partnerships and innovation, Missoula aims to end chronic homeless and ensure better individual and community outcomes for people who are high utilizers of shelter systems, hospitals, and the criminal justice system.

Grant Amount

$150,000

Term

24 month

2019

The Montana Racial Equity Project 2019

The Allostatic Load Project

This project will research, identify, and connect black, brown, and indigenous people of color to the critical health resources they need to heal from the effects of acute and chronic racism. Along with identifying resources for individuals seeking care across the state, the project will develop a curriculum to train mental and physical health practitioners in multicultural assessment and treatment of black, brown, and indigenous people of color. The project will convene meetings and focus groups with key partners and potential practitioners. These meetings will be provided to stakeholders who will not only offer services at low-to-no cost for referred clients but also assist with the development of a training plan based on their existing knowledge and needs to treat minority patients adequately. Grant funds will be used for travel costs associated with this project, and part of the salary for a part-time employee to conduct the research and develop a training curriculum. The project’s overall goal is to serve the needs of people of color in Montana better and reduce the rates of prevalent racial health disparities in Montana.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2019

United Way of Yellowstone County 2019

Billings Homelessness Planning

The Billings Continuum of Care will join theHousing is Health Care Initiative cohort and develop a collaborative plan to reduce homelessness in Yellowstone County.The cohort is using a FUSE (frequent user system engagement) framework toidentifyindividuals who are homeless and have complex medical needsand to provide permanent supportive housingby aligninghousing, healthcare, and social service resources.The Billings Continuum of Care Coalitionhas createda solid foundation of collaboration and infrastructurein their community.This project will leverage their successand develop a shared plan to address homelessness in a focused way. Funding will be used for consultation and guidance from the Corporation forSupportive Housing. Partnersinclude SaintVincent Healthcare, Riverstone Health, theHuman Resource Development Council, Montana Rescue Mission, the City of Billings, and Yellowstone County.

Grant Amount

$58,898

Term

12 month

2019

University of Montana 2019

Improving Access, Training, and Recruitment for American Indian Healthcare

The University of Montana will work to improve care for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in Montana by increasing cultural awareness among medical students and improving access to care for specific medical services. Medical residents and health professions students at the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana and the University of Montana will learn cultural humility through the development of a didactic curriculum for both learners and practicing professionals, as well as an immersion clinical experience at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) Tribal Health. The clinical experience will enhance cultural training and allow active recruitment of residents and students to work in AI/AN health care upon graduation. This project will also development models for new services to be provided by resident and faculty physicians at CSKT Tribal Health, beginning with maternal and obstetrical care. New services will help to address current barriers to care experienced by Tribal Health recipients. Grant funds will help develop curricula, provide resources for the creation of new models of care, and improve and expand the clinical training opportunities in AI/AN settings. This will help meet the overall goal of improving care for one of Montana’s largest underserved populations.

Grant Amount

$97,359

Term

24 month

2019

University of Montana 2019

Montana Interprofessional Student Hotspotting

This project will pilot a cross-disciplinary student hotspotting program to work with Partnership Health Center’s Complex Care program. Student hotspotting, an initiative of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, is a team-based, patient-centered approach to serving patients with complex medical and social needs. Led by University of Montana College of Health Professionals and Biomedical Sciences (CHPBS) faculty, the program will create student teams that provide home-based non-clinical interventions to high-utilizing patients in Partnership Health Center’s Complex Care program. Funding will be used for the operational, administrative, and training costs to develop and implement the training program at the University of Montana. Partners include the Montana Geriatric Education Center, Partnership Health Center, the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers and University of Utah Interprofessional Education and Student Hotspotting, who will provide training and technical support for the program. The project’s goal is to improve patient quality of life, integrate medical, behavioral, and social care, and increase utilization of primary care services through home-based, non-clinical interventions that address the social determinants of health.

Grant Amount

$95,967

Term

24 month

2019

University of Montana Foundation 2019

Capacity Building for the University of Montana Public Health Training Institute

This grant facilitated the successful implementation of the Montana Public Health Training Center (Center). The new Center developed and implemented online training in multiple core public health topics, and also pivoted to create COVID-related training as the pandemic accelerated during the course of the grant. The grantee also leveraged the grant to secure additional funding from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to develop and implement a Public Health Wellness Program to support public health professionals throughout the state. This multi-faceted program delivers online wellness breaks, personal health coaching, training webinars, and access to wellness resources to support a public health workforce that is worn out from the pandemic. Similarly, the grantee also implemented a workforce program that will assist in filling open public health positions in the state and retain those employees for years to come. The additional funding through DPHHS and the Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center has allowed the grantee to continue to offer training year-round to both public health and health care workforces beyond the term of the grant.

Grant Amount

$96,683

Term

24 month

2019

Western Montana Mental Health Center 2019

Ravalli County Strategic Alliance for Improved Mental Health and Well-Being

This project helped the Ravalli County Strategic Alliance for Improved Mental Health and Wellbeing redesign its behavioral health crisis system to reduce emergency department admissions, criminal justice encounters, and recidivism. The Western Montana Mental Health Center (WMMHC) and Marcus Daly Hospital established the alliance, along with community stakeholders such as Sapphire Health and the Ravalli County Sheriff. The partners agreed to a formal charter that establishes project goals and each partner’s commitments. The Alliance began with an analysis of the existing crisis system and how behavioral health, emergency department, and corrections resources are currently used to respond to people in crisis. It then conducted a comprehensive data analysis of behavioral health needs in the county, completed a sequential intercept mapping, developed a strategic plan, and applied for and received a county tribal matching grant. After outlining a set of strategic priorities, the Alliance took the initial steps of implementing mobile crisis services, which was the top priority identified. It will continue implementing the strategic plan and use a dedicated project manager to ensure coordination of the work continues. COVID-19 delayed the work substantially, and project oversight shifted from WMMHC to Marcus Daly, but the project goals were ultimately realized and partnerships were strengthened.

Grant Amount

$35,000

Term

12 month

2019