July 12, 2023 – As part of ongoing efforts to address unmet mental health and substance use disorder needs in Palm Beach County, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County has engaged Initium Health to conduct a behavioral health service delivery and feasibility study to improve access to crisis care and recovery services for county residents.
“Together, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County and Initium Health are committed to accelerating and enhancing crisis care, educating residents on the resources available to them, and positively affecting our community’s increasing need for holistic, comprehensive behavioral health care across the population,” said Darcy J. Davis, the Health Care District’s Chief Executive Officer.
Initium Health, a public benefit corporation and consulting firm located in Denver, Colorado, brings over 20 years of collective experience in healthcare, behavioral health and public health.
“Currently working in ten states with local governments and healthcare systems, Initium is uniquely positioned to support the Health Care District in bridging the gap between local governments, healthcare providers, and community-based organizations to address the complex issue of crisis care for mental health and substance use disorders, collectively known as behavioral health”, said Initium Health Principal, James Corbett, J.D., MDIV.
The Health Care District’s identification of unmet needs for behavioral health, including crisis care, emerged from public health data and discussions with public officials, local businesses, service providers, and residents. This hands-on effort, guided by senior Health Care District leadership and a core team of experienced staff, has identified and adopted national models and best practices as guiding principles.
Under Initium’s guidance, the behavioral health feasibility study is set to begin this month with a final report due later this year. The study includes service gap and needs analysis, financial analysis, workforce considerations, facility programming, design concept recommendations, regulatory and policy analysis, and community engagement — all leveraging national guidelines and best practices for crisis systems framework.-end-
About the Health Care District
The Health Care District of Palm Beach County is a special taxpayer-funded district that has served as a health care safety net for over 30 years to fill in gaps in access to health care services. This unique health care system covers the entire county and provides diverse services such as 13 outpatient clinics (Federally Qualified Health Centers) which serve everyone regardless of ability to pay; school health clinicians staffed in nearly 170 public schools; two Trauma Hawk aeromedical helicopters; a rural, public teaching hospital, Lakeside Medical Center; a skilled nursing facility, the Edward J. Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; a specialty benefits program for eligible, uninsured residents; and quality performance oversight of the county’s lifesaving trauma system.
About the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics
The Health Care District’s Federally Qualified Health Centers across the county serve adults and children with or without insurance and regardless of ability to pay. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number H80CS25684 for Health Center Cluster in the award amount of $7,278,563. Of the total project, 84.5% is financed with nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. The C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics were granted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) deeming status effective January 1, 2023.