Investments Target Older Adults, Financially Disadvantaged and Uninsured Residents
The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust announced grants of more than $1.8 million to expand and integrate mental health services in primary care settings in Forsyth County and nearby communities.
“Mental health is a key component of overall health. However, when someone visits his or her doctor for a checkup or a standard illness, mental health is often overlooked,” said Karen McNeil-Miller, president of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. “We believe integrated care—that is bringing together behavioral and primary health care providers to assess and treat the whole person in a coordinated way—is key to ensuring better long-term health outcomes in many of the financially disadvantaged communities we serve.”
Specifically, the Trust granted $875,000 to Wake Forest University Health Services to bring integrated behavioral health services to Forsyth County’s low-income adults, a service not previously offered in this community. The funds will be used to offer mental health care in coordination with existing primary care services at Baptist Health’s Downtown Health Plaza, which serves many uninsured and underinsured individuals.
“We know mental health is an issue impacting many families in our community,” said Joe Crocker, director of the Trust’s Poor and Needy Division, which funds solely in Forsyth County. “For the first time in Forsyth County, financially disadvantaged individuals who have few health care options can now receive comprehensive, coordinated behavioral health and primary care services in one location.”
The Trust’s Health Care Division, which makes grants across the state, also announced a $968,499 grant to Northwest Community Care Network to bring nationally recognized, evidence-based depression care treatment to low-income older adults in Forsyth, Davie and Surry Counties. Known as IMPACT (Improving Mood: Promoting Access to Collaboration), the model includes a depression care manager for each patient; collaboration between a patient’s primary care physician, depression care manager and psychiatrist; monitoring a patient’s success; and adapting treatment if there is no improvement 10 to 12 weeks later.
“We are confident that local patient health will be improved through the IMPACT model. We are excited to build upon our existing primary care integration efforts and look forward to collaborating with our partners on this exciting opportunity,” said Jim Graham, Network Director of Northwest Community Care Network.
In addition to investing in mental health services, the Trust also granted $350,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County, Inc. to help the group purchase and renovate a building in the Boston-Thurmond neighborhood to serve as the group’s headquarters and homeowners’ education center.
Overall, the Trust’s Poor and Needy Division made grants totaling nearly $2 million this cycle to improve the health and well-being of low-income individuals in Forsyth County. For a complete list of recent grants approved by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust’s Poor and Needy Division, see the attached list.