A journey to become a federally qualified health center.

PURPOSE: Since 1998, Integrated Health Care (IHC), an academic nurse-managed center of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, has delivered primary and mental health care to people with serious and persistent mental illness who are enrolled in psychosocial rehabilitation. DATA SOURCES: Federal guidelines and experiences of the steering group. This article reports our journey of transformation to a achieve the status of a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). CONCLUSIONS: Nurse-managed clinics (NMCs) have become important in the U.S. healthcare system with well documented positive impact. However, financial issues have placed may NMCs at risk for closure. Achieving FQHC status is seen as a viable option to increase revenue and therefore financial stability. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This discussion of the benefits of FQHC status, an overview of some common compliance issues with FQHC requirements, and the report of lessons learned along the way in meeting FQHC standards that we encountered can provide support and guidance for other NMCs in similar situations.

Integrated primary and mental health care services: an evolving partnership model.

TOPIC: Persons with serious psychiatric disabilities experience high rates of medical co-morbidities that, if properly treated, could improve overall well-being and the course of recovery. PURPOSE: This brief reports describes how two organizations-Thresholds Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centers and University of Illinois College of Nursing-partnered to offer integrated behavioral and physical health care responsive to the needs of the population and committed to consumer-centered, holistic and preventative care. Most recently, the partnership offers primary care in different community settings through different service models-tele-monitoring, home visits, group visits. SOURCES USED: A combination of published literature, staff report, and quality assurance data informs this report. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The authors conclude that primary care outreach is a promising strategy in mental health settings and that the Chronic Care Model (CCM) provides a set of guidelines for designing and monitoring quality integrated care for a partnership model of integrated care.