The new clinic will provide primary care services for adults and behavioral health care through its new Intensive Outpatient Program. The program includes support services such as case management and individual and group therapy - three hours a day, three to five days a week. Participants can also connect with a certified peer support specialist, someone who has lived experience.
HOPES Chief Behavioral Health Officer Dr. Kristen Davis-Coelho explains how this initiative can supplement other avenues of mental health care.
“[This care] is great if somebody has hit a crisis point in their life and they need some extra support. It’s good if they are working really hard in therapy and in psychiatry, but they have stopped making progress on their issues,” Davis-Coelho said.
According to research by the University of Nevada, Reno, nearly 95% of the state’s population lives in federally designated mental health professional shortage areas. This Intensive Outpatient Program is designed to fill some of that gap.
HOPES serves people with HIV, those who are experiencing homelessness or who are struggling with substance use. Uninsured are not turned away and Medicare is accepted.
Prevention and intervention are emphasized.
“When you can address a problem like that, that somebody is having early enough, then you can prevent this kind of cascade of problems for them that, you know, lead to hospitalizations, medical problems, suicide attempts, overdoses,” Davis-Coelho said.
Currently HOPES turns away 40 to 60 people a day. There just isn’t enough space and provider schedules are at capacity.
The new clinic will open to the full community in July.
Learn more about the Bell Street clinic here.
Lucia Starbuck is a corps member forReport for America, an initiative of theGroundTruth Project.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.