OCT. 17, 2007--UTMB has received the Texas Hospital Association's 2007 Excellence in Community Service Award for its innovative program, Continuum of Care: A Mental Health and Substance Abuse Model for Galveston and Brazoria Counties. The award for distinguished community service was presented during THA's 2007 Leadership Conference, Oct. 16 in Austin.
"With a statewide shortage of mental health care services, patients who suffer from mental illness or addictions often go undiagnosed or untreated," said Dan Stultz, M.D., FACP, FACHE, president/CEO of THA. "UTMB's program is a stellar model for other health care providers to follow. By filling the gap in mental health services, UTMB has improved the quality of life for hundreds of individuals, while demonstrating cost savings over the long term," Stultz added.
Seven years ago, UTMB recognized a disturbing trend in the system's emergency facilities. Not only were many of the same patients presenting for treatment over and over, but they also usually had a dual diagnosis of a mental health condition along with a chronic disease such as diabetes or asthma. Many of the mental health symptoms could be controlled with proper medication and case management, but access to behavioral care services in the area was severely limited.
With the help of federal grant funding, UTMB created an innovative partnership with other community and faith-based social services organizations to bring desperately needed mental health and substance abuse services to adults and teens. The model placed 10 case managers in the community to reach this vulnerable population. Case managers were stationed in free clinics, jails, inpatient units and emergency centers.
After just one year under the new model, the results were nothing short of dramatic. The program used on-site case management, mobile response teams and tele-intervention to keep patients in treatment and out of a crisis. Keeping "frequent flyers" out of the ER led to significant savings in the health care system.
For example, in one year, 445 individual patients averaged 5.5 visits to UTMB's ER for various reasons, at an average cost of $1,500 for a routine ER visit. Using the Continuum of Care model to keep those 445 people out of the ER at least one time, the savings amounted to nearly $700,000.
Further, data showed that if the model could eliminate visits to the ER by these frequent visitors altogether, the savings is conservatively estimated at $3.7 million in a single year or more than $10 million in three years.
"The ultimate goal is to keep patients on their medications in a treatment plan that keeps them out of a crisis situation, and therefore avoid the need for acute care in an ER or hospital," said Karen Sexton, vice president and CEO for hospitals and clinics at UTMB.
When funding for the grant was lost in the second year, UTMB was asked to continue to support the program. "It wasn't a difficult decision for me," said Sexton. "The merits were clear. Besides the obvious cost savings, people with mental health disorders live more productive, healthier lives in our community. The Continuum of Care model is a win-win all the way around. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful partnership between UTMB professionals and community leaders who want to do the right thing and together, we have found a better way."
Founded in 1930, the Texas Hospital Association is the leadership organization and principal advocate for the state's hospitals and health care systems. Based in Austin, THA enhances its members' abilities to improve accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care for all Texans. One of the largest hospital associations in the country, THA represents nearly 85 percent of the state's hospitals and health care systems, which employ some 320,000 health care professionals statewide.