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The Michigan Health Endowment Fund (Health Fund) has awarded more than $5 million dollars to 14 organizations across Michigan working on innovative behavioral health programs.

Aimed at improving behavioral health services for children and older adults, the grants range from around $150,000 to $500,000. The awardee organizations serve communities in every region of the state, from large metropolitans like Detroit to small towns in Mid-Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

The U.P. organizations receiving money are:

Great Lakes Recovery Centers, Inc., $167,431

Integrated Mental Health and SUD Residential Services for Adolescents in the U.P.

This project will integrate psychiatric care into an existing residential facility for adolescents with substance use disorders. It has the potential to address workforce shortages by testing the telepsychiatry model for residential care. 

Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital | $202,900

Trauma Informed Substance Abuse & Treatment Services Program.

Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital will integrate substance abuse, mental health, and trauma treatment options within primary care for children, adolescents, and seniors. The project develops a collaborative and sustainable model of integration at a critical access facility within a rural underserved community,

All of the supported projects will advance either integrated care or workforce development. Integrating primary care, mental health, and substance use disorder treatment means treating the whole person, either through co-location or coordination of health and wraparound services.

 Projects that support workforce development will help address shortages of psychiatrists and other clinicians across the state.

“Integration and workforce are two persistent challenges when it comes to behavioral health services in Michigan,” explained Health Fund Senior Program Officer Becky Cienki. “By helping expand our state’s capacity to provide care, and ensuring that care is centered around the whole patient, we can improve health outcomes for Michigan residents. And that includes better physical outcomes, too.” 

Behavioral Health is one of the Health Fund’s three annual proactive initiatives. The other two are Healthy Aging and Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyles.