Healthfirst Bluegrass Inc

HEALTH CENTER PROGRAM

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDING FOR HEALTH CENTERS

HEALTH CENTER CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT FUNDING

FY 2021 ENDING THE HIV EPIDEMIC - PRIMARY CARE HIV PREVENTION - HFBG WILL PROPOSE TO USE PCHP FUNDS TO ACHIEVE THREE OBJECTIVES:  1. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS COUNSELED AND TESTED FOR HIV  2. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS PRESCRIBED PREP  3. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS LINKED TO HIV CARE AND TREATMENT WITHIN 30 DAYS OF DIAGNOSIS. THE HEALTH CENTER WILL ADVANCE PROGRESS ON THE PCHP OBJECTIVES BY IMPLEMENTING ACTIVITIES WITHIN FOUR FOCUS AREAS:  - PROVIDER TRAINING TO INCREASE PREP PRESCRIBING, - OUTREACH FOR EDUCATION AND TESTING,  - TESTING EXPANSION FOR ALL HEALTH CENTER PATIENTS AND WITHIN THE COMMUNITY; AND  - WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE ADDITION OF KEY PROJECT STAFF.  PCHP FUNDS TOTALING $325,000 PER YEAR OF THE TWO-YEAR PROJECT WILL SUPPORT HIV PREVENTION ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT FAYETTE COUNTY, KENTUCKY WITH A FOCUS ON THE EHE TARGETED GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION. TO MAXIMIZE PREP ACCESS, THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL MAKE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO INCORPORATE THE USE OF AVAILABLE MEDICATION ASSISTANCE AND DONATION PROGRAMS, INCLUDING READY, SET, PREP, BEFORE USING PCHP FUNDS TO SUPPORT ACCESS TO PREP FOR HEALTH CENTER PATIENTS.  THE PROJECT STAFF TO BE HIRED USING GRANT FUNDS AND INCLUDES A CLINICAL CARE COORDINATOR, A HEALTH EQUITY COORDINATOR AND TWO COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS. AN INTEGRATED CARE, PATIENT CENTERD MODEL WILL HELP US CONSIDER OUR TEAM’S CULTURAL AND CLINICAL COMPETENCE, PATIENTS’ BARRIERS TO SEEKING HIV PREVENTION CARE, SUCH AS TRAUMA, STIGMA, AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH (SDOH), AS WE DEVELOP THIS PROJECT. COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS WILL BE KEY TO ADDRESSING SDOH INCLUDING ECONOMIC STABILITY; EDUCATION ACCESS AND QUALITY; HEALTH CARE ACCESS AND QUALITY; NEIGHBORHOOD AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT; AND SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT. SDOH AFFECT A WIDE RANGE OF HEALTH, FUNCTIONING, AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE OUTCOMES AND RISKS, HFBG WILL LEVERAGE PCHP FUNDING TO ADDRESS:  - EQUITABLE ACCESS TO HIV PREVENTION SERVICES;  - OTHER CURRENT AND ANTICIPATED HIV PREVENTION NEEDS IN THE SERVICE AREA AS WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS INCLUDING THE UNIVERSITY OF KY’S AIDS EDUCATION AND TRAINING CENTER, BLUEGRASS COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, AND THE LEXINGTON FAYETTE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT - POPULATION AND SDOH THAT MAY AFFECT ACCESS TO CARE, CONTRIBUTE TO POOR HEALTH OUTCOMES,         AND EXACERBATE HEALTH DISPARITIES. OUR HEALTH EQUITY COORDINATOR WILL PROVIDE LEADERSHIP AROUND IDENTIFYING THESE FACTORS AND HELPING DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING HIV PREVENTION SERVICES. IN ADDITION, WE WILL CONSIDER HOW BEST TO UTILIZE TELEHEALTH AND MOBILE UNITS AS KEY COMPONENTS OF THE SERVICE DELIVERY METHOD. HFBG’S STRONG, EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AND COMMUNITY-BASED SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES WILL SUPPORT THE HIV PREVENTION PROJECT EFFORTS.

HEALTH CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT

FY 2024 BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICE EXPANSION - HEALTHFIRST’S LEXINGTON-FAYETTE COUNTY SERVICE AREA HAS A POPULATION 323,152, WHICH IS 7% OF THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE STATE OF KENTUCKY. LEXINGTON-FAYETTE COUNTY IS GROWING AT A FASTER RATE THAN THE STATE AND THE NATION AND IS THE SECOND FASTEST GROWING CITY IN KENTUCKY. LEXINGTON-FAYETTE COUNTY IS RACIALLY AND ETHNICALLY DIVERSE AND OUR PATIENT POPULATION IN EVEN MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUDES PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. MENTAL HEALTH AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED. RESIDENTS OF THE SERVICE AREA HAVE SIGNIFICANT MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS AND HAVE 3.8 POOR MENTAL HEALTH DAYS PER MONTH. AN ALARMING 12% OF THE POPULATION IS IN FREQUENT MENTAL DISTRESS AND REPORTED MORE THAN 14 DAYS PER MONTH OF MENTAL DISTRESS. INCOME DISPARITIES ALSO AFFECT MENTAL HEALTH. PEOPLE IN HOUSEHOLDS WITH INCOMES BELOW $35,000 A YEAR ARE MORE LIKELY THAN THOSE IN HOUSEHOLDS WITH INCOMES OVER $100,000 TO REPORT FEELING SADNESS (6.4% COMPARED TO 1.2%), HOPELESSNESS (4.6% COMPARED TO 0.5%), AND WORTHLESSNESS (3.8% COMPARED TO 0.6%). THE SERVICE AREA HAS A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF THE MEDICARE POPULATION WHO HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH DEPRESSION AT 20.6% COMPARED TO 20.2% IN KENTUCKY AND 16.7% ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THE SERVICE AREA HAS A HIGH RATE OF BINGE DRINKING AT 19% COMPARED TO 14% ACROSS THE STATE OF KENTUCKY. THE KENTUCKY OFFICE OF DRUG CONTROL POLICY SHOWS THAT 2,250 PEOPLE DIED FROM A DRUG OVERDOSE IN 2021, A NEARLY 15% INCREASE FROM 2020. IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PANDEMIC, THE UNITED STATES EXPERIENCED THE HIGHEST-EVER COMBINED RATES OF DEATHS DUE TO ALCOHOL, DRUGS, AND SUICIDE. ACCORDING TO A REPORT RELEASED BY TRUST FOR AMERICA'S HEALTH AND WELL BEING TRUST, KENTUCKY'S RATE WAS SECOND IN THE NATION. NATIONWIDE, DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH ALCOHOL, DRUGS, AND SUICIDE, CALLED "DEATHS OF DESPAIR," TOOK THE LIVES OF 186,763 AMERICANS IN 2020, A 20 PERCENT INCREASE FROM 2019. KENTUCKY'S COMBINED DEATHS OF DESPAIR INCREASED BY 36% BETWEEN 2019 AND 2020, SECOND ONLY TO WEST VIRGINIA, WHICH HAD A 37% INCREASE. IN 2020, THE LATEST PAIN IN THE NATION: THE EPIDEMICS OF ALCOHOL, DRUG, AND SUICIDE DEATHS REPORT SHOWS KENTUCKY HAD 3,680 COMBINED DEATHS FROM ALCOHOL, DRUG, AND SUICIDE, AN AGE-ADJUSTED RATE OF 82.8 DEATHS PER 100,000 PEOPLE. OF THOSE, 738 WERE ALCOHOL-INDUCED (37%), 2,187 WERE DRUG-INDUCED (47%), AND 801 WERE BY SUICIDE (7%). HEALTHFIRST WILL UTILIZE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH EXPANSION FUNDS TO ADD NEEDED STAFF TO SUPPORT INCREASED ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE SERVICES FOR OUR EXISTING PATIENT POPULATION AND FOR NEW PATIENTS. MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER SHORTAGES IN THE SERVICE AREA AND THE HIGH NEED OF OUR PATIENT POPULATION MAKE THIS GRANT AWARD CRITICAL TO OUR ABILITY TO MEET THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT NEEDS OF OUR SERVICE AREA POPULATION. HFBG WILL UTILIZE GRANT FUNDS TO HIRE 4.3 FTE NEW BEHAVIORAL HEALTH / INTEGRATED CARE STAFF TO MEET THE NEEDS OF CHC AND HCH PATIENTS. KEY ACTIVITIES INCLUDE TRAINING FOR PROVIDERS RELATED TO SUD/MOUD AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE; INTERNAL REFERRALS, EXTERNAL COLLABORATION AND CHW CARE COORDINATION AT THREE HEALTH CENTER SITES. WE EXPECT TO SERVE AN ADDITIONAL 380 MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS, 80 SUD PATIENTS AND 50 MOUD PATIENTS BY DECEMBER 31, 2025.

FY 2020 EXPANDING CAPACITY FOR CORONAVIRUS TESTING (ECT)

SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTERS CAPITAL PROGRAM

FY 2023 BRIDGE ACCESS PROGRAM

FY 2020 CORONAVIRUS SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FOR HEALTH CENTERS

FY 2023 EXPANDING COVID-19 VACCINATION