Common Questions About Our Program
Learn more about BID Plymouth’s Integrated Healthcare and Substance Use Collaborative below.
The Integrated Healthcare & Substance Use Collaborative serves patients over age 12 with medical and behavioral health and/or substance use needs.
Social workers will provide crisis intervention, needs assessment, information and referral to community resources, follow up and short-term individual and group counseling. Additionally, a psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse practitioner will provide medication evaluation and management, follow up, and consultation to providers.
Research has shown a well-documented overlap of medical (diabetes, asthma, heart disease) and behavioral (anxiety, depression, alcoholism) health conditions. By addressing and providing help for both conditions from a team that collaborates closely, patients have a better chance at recovery and wellness. Patients feel comfortable coming to their doctor’s office for ‘one stop shopping. We want to reduce the stigma, increase the support, and make it easier for patients to get what they need when they need it.
Yes. In addition to the primary care based model described above, we have established an outpatient opiate addiction treatment program with CleanSlate utilizing highly effective medications (Suboxone and Vivitrol) that deter the use of opiates in conjunction with comprehensive individual and group counseling and nursing support. Support groups will be offered to assist families who are coping with the challenges associated with living with and caring for family members who are struggling with opiate addiction.
A behavioral health team collaborates on patients who present in the BID-Plymouth Emergency Department and to coordinate follow up care with our community-based providers to ensure continuity and access. In addition, narcotics prescribing policies will be updated and all ED providers will receive regular training on how to effectively and sensitively care for behavioral health patients.
There is also a plan to establish an outpatient opiate addiction treatment program utilizing Suboxone in conjunction with comprehensive individual and group counseling. Support groups will be offered to assist families who are coping with the challenges associated with living with and caring for family members who are afflicted with opiate addiction.
These outpatient services are designed to greatly reduce access to opiates while increasing help and treatment in order to address the epidemic and stop the deaths from overdoses.
Organizations participating in the Collaborative is include various mental health agencies (local and state) joining as well as the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, Plymouth Public Schools and the Plymouth Mental Health Court.
BID Plymouth is the founder of the Collaborative and is providing program development, implementation, oversight, and grant application support.
Funding for mental health and substance abuse services is always a challenge given limited reimbursement from insurances, overwhelming demand for services, and needs that consistently outweigh capacity. The BID Plymouth ICI is funded through grants, donations, and some offsets from insurance.
No, the Collaborative is separate from the hospital’s Senior Behavioral Health Program.