Establishing an Integrated Health Care Clinic in a Community Mental Health Center: Lessons Learned

Integrating primary care with behavioral health services at community mental health centers is one response to the disparity in mortality and morbidity experienced by adults with serious mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders. Many integration models have been developed in response to the Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration (PBHCI) initiative of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One model is a primary care clinic co-located within the mental health center. The Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) Wellness Center is one such co-located clinic developed as a partnership between CMHC and a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). In this article, we describe the process of developing this on-site clinic along with lessons learned during implementation. We review different aspects of building and maintaining such a clinic and outline lessons learned from both successes and challenges. We briefly describe the demographics and health characteristics of the patient population served in this clinic. We make recommendations for providers and agencies that are considering or are already developing a model for integrating care. Finally, we briefly review status of our clinic after completion of grant funding.