BARNESVILLE — Ohio Hills Health Centers received $650,000 in funding through the 2023 Congressionally Directed Spending to provide for expansion of Behavioral Health Services, which will increase access to mental health services to better meet the needs of the community.

Mental Health is essential to overall health, OHHC states, adding that the United States faces a mental health crisis that has been exacerbated in rural communities due to the lack of staffing and resources.

“We are extremely grateful to Senator Sherrod Brown for his ongoing support and for providing this meaningful and important funding opportunity,” said Jeff Britton, CEO, Ohio Hills Health Centers. “This project will increase Behavioral Health Services in our region by specifically addressing access, affordability, availability of providers and will reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health services.”

Those residing in Appalachia have disproportionately higher rates of mental health problems compared to the general population.

While the prevalence of mental illness is similar between rural and urban residents, the services available can be very different.

Adults residing in rural locations receive mental health treatment less frequently and face more barriers regarding access, availability and affordability. These are all issues that this funding will help Ohio Hills Health Centers to address.

“We know the pandemic has taken a toll on people’s mental health and we know it’s made the addiction crisis worse,” Brown, D-Ohio, said upon release of the funds. “This investment will help to ensure that the Ohio Hills Health Center has the support and resources it needs to care for Ohioans in crisis, expand services and reduce barriers to access.”

In July, Brown visited Ohio University Eastern outside St. Clairsville and met with local health officials in a roundtable forum. There, he learned from Belmont County Deputy Health Commissioner Rob Sproul and others that Eastern Ohio has three basic needs when it comes to mental health care: Funding, getting people to the services they need and having professionals available to provide those services.

Among the people Brown heard from that day were Britton and Jan Chambers, director of outreach and development for OHHC. Britton and nurse practitioner Miles Jefferis told Brown about OHHC’s multiple locations across four counties and their challenges, including getting clients to their appointments for both physical and mental health care. Britton said OHHC serves nine counties in Ohio as well as three in West Virginia.

Among the topics covered that day were addiction, domestic violence, depression and anxiety, all of which participants said are tied together. According to Brown’s office, overdose deaths in Belmont County have increased on a near annual basis over the past decade, with overdose deaths increasing by nearly 65 percent between 2019 and 2020. In the decade leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio’s suicide rates were also on the rise, with several counties in Appalachian Ohio recording some of the highest rates in the state.

Chambers told Brown that “access is huge” for residents of the region when it comes to all types of health care. She said while providers may only be available in certain communities, people who live here are older and poorer, and the area lacks public transportation. Add recent high gasoline prices to the mix, and she said people simply don’t come to their appointments.

“A lot of people can’t travel great distances,” Chambers said. “For people who work for minimum wage, how can you take a day off when you need mental health care?”

Brown, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, urged all the participants to reach out to his staff regarding their specific needs and suggestions. He added that while he wasn’t making any promises at the moment, he could potentially direct earmarked federal funds toward their efforts.

The CDS funding announced this week will provide for building renovations to locate behavioral health services adjacent to OHHC’s health care providers, increasing patient access and familiarity with the setting and thereby reducing the stigma associated with receiving mental health services. It would also enhance confidentiality and provide space to add additional behavioral health care providers to expand services and to add qualified staff to address substance abuse issues. Ohio Hills Health Centers also addresses affordability of behavioral health services through the provision of a patient discount program and the ability to assist patients to apply for Medicaid, Medicare and health insurance through the federal Marketplace.

This Community Project funding will reduce barriers and increase access to mental health services in local communities, OHHC announced in a news release.

“This project will directly improve access to mental health care for area residents who reside in our underserved region,” the release notes.

For more information regarding Ohio Hills Health Centers or its Behavioral Health Services, call 740-239-6447.