As providers of healthcare for communities in inner city as well as rural areas
we recognized very early on that people brought a very broad scope of problems to us.
It wasn't just traditional medical physical health problems and
we recognize that if we wanted to meet their full health needs that
we needed to address their behavioral health needs and quality of life as well.
So to meet those needs that help really address improving their quality of life,
we had to integrate and change our model of care. We integrate our primary care clinics
by bringing in behavioral health expertise as part of our primary care team,
so we have behavioral health providers embedded in primary care
working alongside primary care providers as part of that team.
And that means when people show up in our clinics that we're able to address
the full spectrum of healthcare needs, not just traditional mental health issues
but also help them with lifestyle changes, improving their quality of life and helping them
manage some of their chronic illnesses that they may be struggling with.