In 2020, North Range was awarded a federal grant to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, allowing us to expand and enhance treatment for those most in need in Weld County. As a CCBHC, we're removing barriers to care and redefining how we do business to better serve our communities.
At a time when we could all use mental health support, we are proud to celebrate our first year of being certified as an agency that provides the "gold standard" in behavioral health services.
Using the CCBHC grant, North Range is required to focus on how we deliver:
- 24/7/365 mobile crisis team services to help people stabilize in the most clinically appropriate, least restrictive, least traumatizing, and most cost-effective settings.
- Immediate screening and risk assessment for mental health, addiction, and basic primary care to address chronic comorbidities that drive poor health outcomes and high costs for those with behavioral health disorders.
- Easy access to care, which translates into reduced wait times, so those who need services can receive them when they need them, regardless of ability to pay or where they live.
- Tailored care for active-duty military and veterans to ensure they receive the kind of treatment most effective for their needs.
- Expanded care coordination with local primary providers, hospitals, other health care providers, social service providers, and law enforcement, with a focus on whole health access to comprehensive medical, behavioral, and supportive services.
- Commitment to peers and family, recognizing that their involvement is essential for recovery and should be fully integrated into care.
What do those mean in practice?
While North Range has always focused on these areas, honest assessments reveal that we deliver on some better than others. For example, North Range is using this opportunity to revamp how people begin treatment–how our "front door" can become better tuned to a caller's needs at the time of that first call and throughout treatment. That has required deep analysis of how clients are welcomed into treatment, assigned therapists, and what resources might aid in delivering their care.
We believe that the resulting improvements from this analysis will help us get people connected to care more efficiently and better match that care up with a client's cultural, clinical, and demographic realities.
"CCBHC funding paves the way to the future, moves us beyond 'business as usual,' and helps us meet our goal of providing excellent behavioral health care." - Jacki Kennedy, North Range Chief Operations Officer
Enhancing care requires a hard look at training, staffing, and existing protocols to understand what must be improved. In addition, it demands robust attention to stringent outcomes, which means more often evaluating how well we are meeting client expectations and providing what they need for success.
Already, North Range therapists are thankful for the opportunity to more closely reflect how their clients perceive their treatment and what adjustments can be made to better serve them. CCBHC also allows for our administrative team to provide staffing and training that make those adjustments possible.
Recognizing the promise of the CCBHC model, Congress has appropriated $400 million for CCBHC expansion grants to behavioral health organizations that are committed to high-quality and efficient practices. North Range joins four other Colorado behavioral health centers as CCBHC leaders in the state: Southeast Health Group, Mental Health Partners, Aurora Mental Health Center, and Mind Springs Health. At this time, over 430 behavioral health centers in the country have received the CCBHC designation.
