HSR Work Helps Arkansas Secure a $9.5M Grant to Bolster Mental Health Care

Research News

October 25, 2024

Expertise and research from HSR's Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research (CeMHOR) helped secure a $9.5 million grant from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to fund implementation of the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM), a team-based approach to care that integrates medical and behavioral health services in primary care settings.

The Arkansas award is led by former CeMHOR Associate Director Teresa Hudson, PharmD, PhD, in partnership with David Jones, MSW, Project Director at the Arkansas Department of Health. CeMHOR investigators Jeffrey Pyne, MD; JoAnn Kirchner, MD; Kathleen Grubbs, PhD; and John Fortney, PhD (now with HSR's Seattle Center of Innovation) played an integral role in the foundational research that established the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing collaborative care in primary care. CeMHOR investigators Michael Cucciare, PhD, Dr. Pyne, and Dr. Grubbs, with Dr. Fortney, are leading the evaluation of the grant. Tisha Deen, PhD, a former CeMHOR fellow, leads implementation of the CoCM model in all 16 primary care clinics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and serves as a subject matter expert to other participating primary care clinics across the state.

The CoCM was introduced in three clinic systems and will be rolled out to more than 30 clinics across the state. The model will significantly increase access to behavioral health services for residents of a state where 97% of counties are classified as mental health professional underserved areas.