One in five North Carolinians, almost 2.2 million people live in 60 rural counties. The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust has invested $30 million in seven counties to get a program called “Healthy Places NC” http://content/healthy-places-nc up and running.
The Trust is providing funds to ramp up access to behavioral health treatment in communities. Catawba Valley Behavioral Healthcare (CVBH), https://www.cvbh.org, a nonprofit service provider coordinates behavioral health and primary care for use by those in need. CVBH with support from the Trust as part of the “Healthy Places NC program, will receive $513,594 to increase case management capacity in the community.
The Trust plans to invest $100 million in 10 to 12 rural counties. To date, the Trust has invited seven counties including Burke County to participate in expanding the right healthcare for the right individuals in the County.
The goal is to ensure the most at-need residents such as those living in poverty, homeless, and dealing with mental health issues, are able to receive access to treatment options. The goal is to increase services so people will be able to access both behavioral and medical care and social support in one place.
The grant is the result of a partnership between CVBH and Burke Integrated Health (BIH) https://www.burkeintegratedhealth.com formed under a previous capital grant awarded to CVBH in 2015. BIH is a collaborative effort to create an integrated service hub to provide behavioral and primary healthcare one-stop shopping location for the community.
In addition, to increasing case management efforts, the grant will enable increasing child psychiatry services which is another growing priority area in Burke County. The funding will also enable consultants to look at the system to examine current resources and to make them more efficient.
In general, the Trust intends to invest up to half of their resources in the Healthy Places NC program over the next ten years. There are plans to concentrate on providing access to primary care, continuing to help to individuals with behavioral health issues, developing ideas to help the community stay healthy, and caring for individuals with diabetes.