LINCOLN, Neb. (January 06, 2017) – Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska (LFS), in partnership with the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center (UNPPC), has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to study the impact of integrated care services offered through the Health 360 Integrated Care Clinic located in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The clinic, a partnership between LFS and People’s Health Center (PHC), provides integrated care by coordinating and offering behavioral health, primary care, dental and pharmaceutical services under one roof. The two-year grant will fund research by a team from UNPPC working with an LFS-based research coordinator to communicate with participants, gather data and complete a rigorous evaluation of integrated care outcomes.
“This is a superb opportunity to study the differences that can be made in people’s lives,” said Todd Reckling, vice president of program for LFS. “The research grant not only allows us to study the difference being made but fosters further partnerships in the community around healthcare and public health.”
The research will include interviews, focus groups and surveys from both clients and providers at the clinic. Health data from participants receiving integrated care will be analyzed and compared with participants receiving stand-alone care services. Health 360 clients will have the opportunity to voluntarily participate in the incentivized research study. Findings will be shared with federal and state agency partners, national associations, conferences and journals.
Data gathered by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors shows that individuals with serious mental illness die on average 25 years earlier than others, due in large part to treatable medical conditions. Nearly 7 out of 10 adults with a behavioral health disorder have at least one physical health condition.
The Health 360 Integrated Care Clinic is working to change these statistics by providing a holistic and affordable approach to care, especially for the most vulnerable. The clinic brings together a larger group of experts to better coordinate health care for its clients. Furthermore, clients enter through one door, reducing the stigma associated with mental health care.
About Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc.
Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska (LFS), established in 1892, is not-for-profit, multi-service human care organization with 18 locations across Nebraska and offices in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Impacting over 43,000 individuals annually, the LFS mission is to provide human care services that build and strengthen individual, family and community life.
As a multi-service agency, LFS demonstrates its mission through three broad service areas:
- Behavioral Health Services, including mental health counseling, sexual abuse/incest treatment, substance use treatment, and specialized counseling for children, adolescents, adults and families;
- Children Services, providing infant, international and foster care adoption services and searches, foster care, pregnancy counseling, maternal health care and family support services; and
- Community Services, providing refugee resettlement services, immigration legal services, AmeriCorps and other education and employment services for new populations.
About the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center
Established in 1998, the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center links policy with research, process and practice. The Center collaborates with federal, state and local partners to translate scientific understanding into policy impacts in a variety of ways:
- Connecting community partners and networks with scholarly resources
- Facilitating policy utilization
- Conducting community-based participatory research and program evaluation
- Developing action-oriented applied reports
- Contributing content expertise in a broad range of policy areas.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are working with others to build a national Culture of Health enabling everyone in America to live longer, healthier lives. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook
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