BriggsNetNews

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP
Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare

Beginning Spring 2023, the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF) will provide training and resources to skilled nursing facility staff who care for residents with a variety of behavioral health conditions. This is a three-year cooperative agreement awarded to Alliant Health Solutions from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  Alliant has over 50 years of experience working with nursing homes and behavioral health in nursing homes.

Established by Congress in 1992, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation.

SAMHSA provides leadership, supports programs and services, and devotes resources to helping people act on the knowledge that behavioral health is essential to health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover.

Learn more about SAMHSA’s Interim Strategic Plan, and the five priority areas to better meet the behavioral health care needs of individuals, communities, and service providers.

The training and technical assistance provided by the COENF will be free of charge.

Training and resources provided to nursing facilities by COE-NF includes:                                                                                                    

• The CMS F-Tag Behavioral Health Regulations                                                                                                               
• Trauma-informed care                                                                                                                                                    
• Suicide prevention   
• Behavioral health equity                                                                                                                                                
• Increasing your facility’s ability to meet Quality Assessment Performance Improvement (QAPI) goals
• De-escalation techniques                                                                                                                                                 
• Workforce development and                                                                                                                                                   
• Other mental health and substance use topics

Access to:                 

• Specialized mental health and substance use trainings  
• Regional behavioral specialists for individualized technical assistance
• Subject matter experts for mental health and substance use questions
• Data driven, customized, quality improvement supports        
• Curated and evidence-based resources and curriculum on general mental health and substance use topics

This and other information is found on the COE-NF FAQ Sheet.

On May 16, 2022, HHS announced the funding opportunity of nearly $15 million for a three-year federal grant to establish a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) program that will strengthen the delivery of behavioral health care to residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), this program will establish a Center of Excellence for Building Capacity in Nursing Facilities to Care for Residents with Behavioral Health Conditions (Center of Excellence). This builds on President Biden’s State of the Union emphasis on the critical importance of ensuring residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities receive high-quality care.

The Center of Excellence is expected to improve overall health care in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities by providing direct consultation to staff to increase understanding, improve awareness, reduce stigmatization, and build knowledge and skills for effective resident care. Ultimately, the Center of Excellence will strengthen and sustain effective behavioral health practices and achieve better outcomes for residents who have serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, substance use issues, or co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions. It will also ensure accessibility of evidence-based training and technical assistance focused on mental health disorder identification, treatment, and recovery support services.

The program will be funded with CMS’ Civil Money Penalty (CMP) funds, which come from collected CMPs that are imposed against nursing homes and other long-term care facilities when they are not in substantial compliance with one or more Medicare and Medicaid program participation requirements for long-term care facilities. These funds may be reinvested to support activities that benefit nursing home residents and that protect or improve their quality of care or quality of life.

“This grant and our partnership with SAMHSA provide access to prevention and treatment for substance use issues, mental health services, crisis intervention, and pain care,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “Making behavioral health care a priority in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities supports a person’s whole emotional and mental well-being, promotes person-centered behavioral health care, and advances our CMS Behavioral Health Strategy.”