HCHIP Behavioral Health

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behavioral Health
Mental Health, Substance Use/Abuse and Treatment

Substance use and mental health are urgent health needs affecting the area as identified by Community Health Needs Assessments for Hampden County hospitals in 2016 and 2019. Substance use disorders overall, and opioid use specifically are top concerns, with overdose fatalities and overdose hospitalizations  very high in some communities in Hampden County). Substance abuse-related ER visits are higher in Springfield and Holyoke than in the rest of the county, and the rates are particularly high among the Latino population. Youth substance abuse rates are also higher in Hampden County than in other parts of the state. There was overwhelming consensus among hospital focus group participants, health care providers, administrators, and community members about the need for:

  • Increased education across all sectors to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and substance abuse;
  • More treatment options, including long term care;
  • Increased integration between the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders;
  • The impact of mental health conditions and substance abuse on families.
Strategy Implementation
The Behavioral Health Domain Team chose the following strategies to implement in 2019-2020:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting Agendas and Notes

 

Metrics

  • Opioid overdose (incidents and fatalities)
  • Use of substance use disorder treatment (for all substances)
  • # of places that can administer Naloxone, can purchase it or access it, and use it
  • # of QPR trainings done, # of people getting QPR trainings
  • Decreased stigma. Indicators TBD, but can include:
    • Change in provider practices and policies around implicit bias
    • # of people trained in/educated about stigma and inherent bias
  • # of Naloxboxes in Hampden County and use of Naloxone from them
Resources