Integrated Care

Peoria Integrated Healthcare Program

A four year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is supporting the further development of integrated behavioral health and primary care services for adults with a serious mental illness.  This project is a partnership between Human Service Center and the Heartland Community Health Clinic.  Two Nurse Care Managers and three Wellness Coaches assist persons enrolled in the project to address chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and cardio vascular disease to learn to manage these disorders while improving their health and wellness.  A web based patient registry will contain both primary care and behavioral health measures and will allow monitoring of health status and adaptation of treatment approaches as needed.  An Integrated Wellness Management and Recovery learning module developed by researchers at Dartmouth Medical School is being utilized to teach techniques to management illnesses. 

Integrated Health Center

In February, 2010, the Integrated Health Center began operations.  The new program allows persons with crises related to behavioral health problems to be diverted from hospital emergency departments.  The center also provides an alternative to arrest and incarceration for police when they encounter people with problem behaviors related to their mental health or substance use conditions.  The center operates 24 hours a day with nurses from Heartland Community Health Clinic and behavioral health and peer specialists from Human Service Center.  The trained peer staff members engage people in a “living room” atmosphere within the center and provide a model of recovery.   Four beds allow people to stay up to three days if needed.  During weekdays, a primary care clinic is operated at the center and people without an ongoing primary care relationship may make this location their medical home.