Collaborative to Improve Behavioral Health Access (CIBHA)

LPHI’s first major primary care behavioral health integration initiative, the Primary Care Access and Stabilization Grant (PCASG) program occurred post-Katrina. Selected based on its reputation as a trusted, nimble facilitator in the Greater New Orleans area, LPHI mobilized staff and resources quickly after the disaster to make an unprecedented move toward neighborhood-centered primary care. Through PCASG, LPHI administered more than $93 million across 25 eligible Greater New Orleans health care provider organizations, serving nearly 400,000 individuals and supporting two million primary care and behavioral health visits during the four year program period.

Recognizing the critical role of mental health support in post-Katrina New Orleans, LPHI created the Collaborative to Improve Behavioral Health Access (CIBHA) with generous support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. CIBHA introduced PCASG awardees to behavioral health integration practices through a regional collaborative approach, which allowed 23 of the aforementioned organizations to improve the delivery of integrated care by increasing identification and treatment of depression in primary care, promoting the use of the chronic care model in clinic settings, and implementing clinical and financial strategies that could sustain integration. By the end of CIBHA, the number of PCASG funded organizations providing integrated care rose from 13 to 22, and an independent survey found that 78% of patients who needed to see a behavioral health provider did so at their PCASG supported clinic.

To access the full evaluation of the Collaborative to Improve Behavioral Health Access, click here.