South Middlesex Times

Behavioral health professionals at Rutgers University will collaborate with the state of New Jersey to enhance mental health and substance use services in Newark and Elizabeth. This initiative is supported by a $4.5 million federal grant awarded to the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

The grant will facilitate efforts by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care’s Center for Integrated Care (CIC) to integrate behavioral care providers into primary care offices. This model, known as the Collaborative Care Model, aims to assess patients and connect them with behavioral health and psychiatry services immediately, eliminating the need for referrals. The approach is expected to save time for patients, increase access to care, reduce the workload on primary care doctors, and lower medical costs.

“This is an exciting partnership with the state that allows us to not only improve treatment and treatment access in medically underserved areas but also have the opportunity to impact state planning and advance collaborative care across state health programs,” said Holly Lister, a psychologist and program manager for CIC.

The project focuses on increasing identification and treatment of individuals with behavioral health disorders, improving engagement and retention in care, and using measurement-based care to treat serious mental illness, child and adolescent emotional disturbances, as well as co-occurring physical health conditions within primary care settings.

This marks the fourth grant aimed at assisting CIC in expanding integrated behavioral health services and promoting education about integrated care models throughout New Jersey. The funding will also support educating healthcare providers and the public about the collaborative care approach.