3 . Expand the capacity of behavioral health services in Polk County .
• Increase aggregate funding for behavioral health providers . o Adopt a Grant Management system that can ( 1 ) help coordinate access to care , ( 2 ) manage grant applications and track performance , ( 3 ) alert potential grantees of prospective funding streams . 53
• Establish a long-term plan to expand affiliated medical support professional capacity , and in doing so , reduce the urgency of growing the direct care provider base . o Increase the number of certified community health workers ( CHWs ) by partnering with training sites such as Peace River , Tri-County Human Services , Southeastern University , and others . Engage the Palm Beach County Medical Society Services , and review options to inexpensively provide CHW training that will expand the care coordination provider base . o
Revise existing care coordination activities at local providers such as BayCare and Advent , as well as Orlando Health and others currently provide care coordination services to include additional services for behavioral health patients .
o Increase use of telehealth services ( including promoting access to and awareness of existing telehealth services including more rural communities outside of Lakeland ), and identify , and contract with , a telehealth service provider who can provide flex capacity and crisis services throughout Polk County . Specifically , implement the following three initiatives :
• Expand telehealth outpatient services and support group availability . Due to the pandemic , a high of over 70 % of outpatient care visits were conducted ( April 2020 ). Going forward , it is likely that between 15 % and 20 % of outpatient behavioral health visits may be consulted via telehealth . Telehealth offers the ability to serve clients facing transportation challenges , yet it is limited in areas where broadband access is not strong . Telehealth resources either co-located locally or supplied from outside the region provide relatively rapid resources that may be applied to address growing behavioral health needs .
• Establish or expand e-consult services . Telehealth capacity may also be structured to provide e-consult services so that primary care providers , hospital Emergency Departments , and other first responders can have quick access to medical / psychiatric specialists . Some of the leading providers include AristaMD , RubiconMD , and MediOrbis .
• Market telehealth resources to the community by engaging public health , public safety , and major service providers . Initially frame telehealth as an improved access to initial care resources – expanding and integrating it with other modalities , as needed . 54
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NOTE : The FORWARD model will be used to identify grant opportunities – based on individually designed criteria – for all Polk County service providers choosing to be part of the model . Participation in the model ( free of charge ) will also allow Polk Vision and others to maintain a real-time , accurate directory of behavioral health service providers . FORWARD will also collaboratively manage all grant application activities with the soliciting organization : community outreach / solicitation , selection criteria development , application management , application scoring , applicant communications , awardee selection , funds distribution , reporting of applicant profiles , and others .
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