PROVIDENCE – The Care Transformation Collaborative of Rhode Island was awarded $870,000 of the State Innovation Model grant from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to a CTC press release on Friday.
The CTC is a state multi-payer organization that focuses on advanced primary care delivery. The allocation is intended to advance the impact of Rhode Island’s patient-centered medical home model. Funds will be used to enhance the organization’s behavioral health initiative, which aims to implement universal screenings for depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders in primary care practice.
The CTC will use the funds to train members of integrated behavioral health teams. Brown University researchers will evaluate the initiatives impact. The funds will also be used to redesign work-flows in pediatric practices to facilitate patient-oriented care. According to the press release, CTC works with 12 primary care practices which account for approximately 58,000 Rhode Islanders.
“We are grateful for the investment in our work to enhance the physical and behavioral health of Rhode Islanders,” Debra Hurwitz, executive director of CTC, said in a statement. “By strengthening efforts to integrate behavioral health in the primary care setting, and provide greater support for pediatric practices implementing the patient-centered medical home model, we are indeed transforming the way our state delivers and pays for health care – the ultimate goal of SIM.”
The SIM grant was awarded to Rhode Island in 2015 and totals $20 million. Twenty-three other states also received a SIM grant in that year.
SIM funds support three tiers of health care in Rhode Island, improving the primary care and behavioral health infrastructure; engaging patients in positive health behaviors and self-advocacy; and expanding the ability of providers and policymakers to use and share data.
Chris Bergenheim is PBN staff writer.
