The Southern Regional Behavioral Health Policy Board resumed operations in June 2023. The following information aligns with current state and regional goals and objectives as well as information taken from the 2022-2023 Annual Reports.  The coordinator and the board continue working together and with local and regional stakeholders to develop initiatives around local and regional needs and priorities. The SRBHPB will begin reviewing these and/or developing other priorities and initiatives in the coming year(s). 

Three of the primary content areas the board will be working on are as follows: substance use/misuse prevention; mental health; and opioid response.

Overview of Priorities and Strategies

1. Continue understanding local and regional highlights and strengths, opportunities, and needs (gaps and barriers).
2. Continuing to develop strategies, priorities, and initiatives as they relate to the southern rural and frontier region and statewide behavioral health.
3. Implementing a direct impact and sustainable culture of concrete action and communication leading to tangible results (effective execution and follow-up).
4. Tiered Process based upon demographics (population thresholds) and nearby infrastructure in relation to various parts of the region
5. Developing and implementing outreach and education for the public and stakeholders.

Outreach and Education (inform/educate board/public)

1. Involving “public voice” and community stakeholders and partners.
2. Reducing barriers to public input and involvement.
3. Value-added benefit of a policy board for the public
4. More accessibility – social media to collect feedback to inform and educate the public.
5. Earning public trust and communications to demonstrate how board makes a difference.
6. Ways to remove barriers and increasing presence in the communities.
7. Provided updates at behavioral health and other community groups about policy board.
8. Examen historical context, communication, trust, and feedback issues, and impact in communities before moving into policy.

Emerging Issues

 Transportation and Transport: Medical, Behavioral or Crisis

• Resources and funding for rural outreach – infrastructure – creative options
• Factors: reducing barriers of high caseloads, short staffing, large geographic distance in regions, and scarce services and limited resources and allocation; safety as a factor.
• Availability of facilities issues in relation to transport – priority levels dictate urgency / access to hospitals, residential services, and facilities.
• Summary of Process: “Medical necessity” – sheriff-EMS transport variables – lack of consistency in transport services – different protocols and procedures for each county- driven by medical necessity that drives reimbursement and levels of services – physical-medical treatment vs. emotional and behavioral health issue or both / fee for service and other payment issues and barriers – reimbursement and payment as restrictions or avenues to service and transport. Depends on where patient is originating from, and issue of mental health crisis holds (3-day) – decision for transport – responsibility for payment and sheriff or ambulance transport
• Workforce and Staffing (hospitals, law enforcement, EMS, clinical, peers, CHWs): ,
• Boomerang effect: high utilizing patients that continually cycle through the system

Crisis Response and Stabilization: rural and frontier – hospitals, facilities, and community.

• Improve the capacity of local hospitals – addressing reimbursement services – noted overlap in transportation and transport above. Different options for transport.
• Barriers and access to services – high risk factors
• Discharge and transition planning and services – movement between levels
• Stabilization and Treatment: establishing more outpatient care
• Some areas do not have hospitals: telehealth and limited onsite services
• Partnerships and creative collaboration are essential: local, regional resources & agencies.

• Intake and assessment – earlier intervention – levels of care determined.
• Local options – community-based options and short-term stabilization
• Communication – utilization of local resources – meeting individuals where they are
• Homelessness issue and difficulty with date and reporting
• Prevention level services – upstream funding and programs

Access to Care and Services: barriers to insurance and care and other related issues

• Any willing provider, paneling of providers / access issue – inaccuracy, not accepting patients, barriers – contributes to scarcity of providers.
• Telehealth (virtual): limited or short-term solution vs. value of in-person care.

 Training and education: crisis response, mental health, substance use-misuse, opioids, naloxone, Narcan, first responder-EMS, law enforcement. This relates to and supports other issues.

 Youth, parenting support, family systems, and engagement: residential and community support and transition. Service complexities with guardianship concerns and funding.

 Workforce Development (GOED): Community Health Workers, Peer Specialists, Clinical Staff, Certifications, and Licensing. This issue is related to barriers and access to care, transport, and crisis.

 Courts and justice: specialty courts, mental health, deflection, and diversion

Data assessment and collection as a guiding focus: collection and reporting – issues, availability, barriers, and complexity. This issue is related to all other issues and cuts across lines.