Horizons Mental Health Center has been awarded a $3.1 million-dollar expansion grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). SAMHSA is an agency in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services in the nation’s capital.

Horizons was one of only six community mental health centers in Kansas selected as recipients of the expansion grants. Approximately 340 agencies throughout the nation are CBHCCs or have made an application to become one.

To complete the steps required to be a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, Horizons will be required to provide a comprehensive number of treatment services that create access, stabilize clients dealing with crisis, and provide treatment and recovery services for those with the most serious and complex mental health and substance abuse issues. A primary focus of a CCBHC is to ensure there is coordination and integration of care in order to ensure all providers are working in a coordinated manner to ensure better outcomes. Care coordination and crisis stabilization are key services within a CCBHC in order to avoid higher, and more expensive, levels of care such as in the Emergency Room and inpatient hospitalization. Another requirement is to ensure people with mental health or substance abuse problems receive the care they need rather than ending up in the legal system when they have contact with law enforcement.

Horizons was awarded this grant as a result of SAMHSA seeing the potential within the organization to take service delivery and community engagement to the next level.

Mike Garrett, Horizons CEO said the application process required to be provided this opportunity is very intense and reflects the commitment Horizons Mental Health Center has in improving the care provided to those they serve and meeting the needs of our communities.

“Only those organizations demonstrating an ability and willingness to achieve this high level of service are seriously considered for grants of this magnitude,” Garrett said. “Being awarded this opportunity is a recognition of the hard work that Horizons staff has already accomplished and a testament to the organization’s mission of providing the highest quality of care.”

Ken Johnson, President and CEO of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, said Horizons is one of Kansas’ most respected community mental health organizations. “For more than a half century, Horizons has been a trailblazer and in the forefront with the most advanced treatments and programs,” Johnson said. “As a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, Horizons will achieve the next level of excellence.”

Horizons Mental Health Center, an entity of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, was established in 1968 and serves more than 6,500 clients annually across their five-county service area, with offices in Hutchinson, Pratt, Kingman, Harper and Medicine Lodge.