New Mattapan Integrative Care Partnership Receives State Funding

The Mattapan Integrative Care Partnership will be implemented this Fall owing to the strong advocacy efforts of State Representative Dan Cullinane and State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry. The partnership, which received start-up funds in the FY15 state budget, will offer integrated behavioral health services to Mattapan residents with the unique partnership of the Mattapan Community Health Center (MCHC), Wheelock College Social Work Department, Mattahunt Community Center (MCC) and Mattahunt Elementary School (MES).  

The partnership will use the funds to establish an on-site behavioral health practice at the MCHC, staffed by a licensed social worker, with access points to these services at partner locations supported by Wheelock College’s Master-level social work students. Together, these partners will improve recognition, treatment and management of psychosocial problems and coordinate care across primary care and specialty area teams at the MCHC.

“The Mattapan Community Health Center strives to improve the quality of life for residents of Mattapan and surrounding communities by providing comprehensive, accessible, affordable and culturally appropriate community health services,” said Dr. Azzie Young, President and CEO of the Health Center. “We thank State Representative Cullinane and State Senator Forry for helping to make the integrative care pilot possible.”

The Partnership was formed in 2013 out of discussion between the Health Center, Wheelock College through its public-private partnership at the Mattahunt Wheelock Community Center, and the Mattahunt Elementary School, about the ongoing behavioral health needs that children, youth and families present and self-identify in the course of their work. Partners committed to tackling this community challenge by adopting an innovative model on the cutting edge of integrated medical care, which will reduce fragmentation of care and attend to the needs of the whole patient.

Recognizing the potential of this health focused partnership to address the unmet need of community-based mental health services within Mattapan, State Rep. Cullinane and State Sen. Forry successfully secured $50,000 in state funding for the program during the Legislature’s FY15 budget deliberations.

“Access to behavioral health care for our community has been one of my priorities at the State House and is at the heart of my work as a member of the House Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, as well as the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse,” said State Representative Dan Cullinane. “I fought hard to secure state funds for the Mattapan Integrative Care Partnership because I believe it will address an immediate need in the community while improving educational, economic and overall health outcomes for the long-term.”

According to State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, “This funding will establish behavioral health services at the Mattapan Community Health Center and create the opportunity for residents and their children to connect to these services at multiple locations in Mattapan.  I know this funding will have a significant impact on the lives of Mattapan’s children and families, which is why I fought so hard to secure it in the Senate.”

The Mattahunt Community Center and Mattahunt Elementary School will act as satellite, feeder locations for the MCHC’s Behavioral Health Department. Wheelock College’s advanced social work students, under the supervision of a licensed social worker, will administer comprehensive screenings at these satellite locations, which will help identify child/family health, behavioral health and social service needs. Students will then make referrals to appropriate services at the MCHC as well as other agencies within the City of Boston.

“I thank Sen. Forry and Rep. Cullinane for their leadership in meeting a critical area of need in their districts,” said Jackie Jenkins-Scott, President of Wheelock College. “I urge private donors and philanthropic organizations to join Wheelock College, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and others in supporting and sustaining the development of these important services within Mattapan.”

For more information about these services, please visit the Mattapan Community Health Center web site (mattapanchc.org) or call the Health Center at (617) 296-0061.