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FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - Behavioral Health Partners of MetroWest (BHPMW) recently announced the start of a Health and Social Service Hub project to better coordinate the delivery of mental health, substance use, primary healthcare, and social services for MetroWest residents. The Hub project is now underway with a planning grant from MetroWest Health Foundation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment in which innovative solutions are desperately needed, at a time when resources are stretched. Building upon many strengths in MetroWest, the Health and Social Services Hub will be an effective and innovative approach to improving healthcare and even more relevant as a key component of a post-emergency response in the MetroWest region.
Behavioral and physical healthcare systems are complex, and individuals and families often need hands-on help navigating to the services they need to thrive. In 2017, BHPMW established the MetroWest Referral Line as a single point of entry for people to access services for mental health, substance use, housing, and other social supports through local provider agencies. To date, they have responded to 1,800 calls from MetroWest residents and linked many with the services they requested.
Building on the foundation of the MetroWest Referral Line, the Health and Social Service Hub project will be a more expansive effort to collaborate with other healthcare providers to make local outpatient healthcare and social services more accessible, coordinated, efficient, and effective for individuals and families who often need multiple types of supports. Framingham, Natick, and Ashland will be the initial target communities. Healthcare and social service providers within those cities and towns will collaborate to develop a new system for people to more easily obtain services and for that care to be better coordinated across all providers.
“The goal of the Hub model is to impact the way the local system of care works together,” says Martin Cohen, president and CEO of MetroWest Health Foundation, “We see this planning grant as a great way to frame how health and social services can be better aligned to improve access to services and provide better continuity of care for individuals and families with complex needs.”
In Massachusetts and other states, hub models have been created to efficiently address the needs of individuals and populations across a region, integrate a local service delivery system, and facilitate timely access and care coordination to meet the needs of high-risk community members.
“The MetroWest community has robust resources and services, but there are challenges in connecting people with the supports they need and coordinating care across healthcare providers,” says Anne Pelletier Parker, Executive Director of BHPMW. “Hub models bridge gaps between providers to ensure individuals and families are receiving the best possible supports and services.”
The Hub will develop a network of providers who will collaborate to identify those in greatest need, determine the most effective interventions, and coordinate care.
For more information about Behavioral Health Partners of MetroWest or the MetroWest Health and Social Service Hub Project, please visit www.BHPMW.info or contact Anne Pelletier Parker, Executive Director, at (508) 628-6614 or AParker@bhpmw.info. For access to services, call the MetroWest Referral Line: 1-844-528-6800.
About Behavioral Health Partners of MetroWest
Behavioral Health Partners of MetroWest is a partnership of four leading social services and behavioral health agencies serving the Greater MetroWest region of Massachusetts. Together, Advocates, South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), Spectrum Health Systems, and Wayside Youth & Family Support Network encompass expertise in mental health, substance use and addiction, housing, and social supports for people of all ages.
About MetroWest Health Foundation
The MetroWest Health Foundation is an independent health philanthropy whose mission is to improve the health status of the community, its individuals, and families through informed and innovative leadership.
