PAYETTE, Idaho, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cornerstone Whole Healthcare Organization (C-WHO) was granted a five-year award of $1,750,000 by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and a single year award of $50,000 from Idaho's own Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation (LMCF) to support the Greater Rural Idaho Telehealth Team Expansion (GRITTE) project. The GRITTE Project will deploy a sustainable Direct to Consumer (DTC) tele-behavioral health network and service delivery model to expand access to vital behavioral health therapy and treatment resources in rural underserved communities across Idaho.

With more than 60% of rural Americans living in mental health shortage areas because more than 90% of all psychologists and psychiatrists currently live in metropolitan areas, innovative strategies are needed to improve access to essential mental health services and providers in rural America (National Institutes of Mental Health, 2018). That's where C-WHO and the GRITTE project come in. "Cornerstone Whole Healthcare Organization is pleased to receive this grant award from HRSA to provide sorely needed behavioral health services via telehealth to rural and frontier communities in Idaho" said Megan Gomeza, MSW, Chief Officer of the Network Development and Expansion Division at C-WHO.

In direct-to-consumer telemedicine, patients can access licensed behavioral health providers in locations convenient to them (including from their own home). Patients will be able to obtain assessment and treatment by computer, telephone, or smartphone. Behavioral health providers in Idaho will contract with C-WHO to receive support in the form of communication software and technical assistance, data and analytic support, implementation of an electronic health record, application of tele-behavioral health standards of practice, and a network (Telehealth Idaho Independent Provider Integration Network, TIIPIN) of behavioral health providers for patient referrals. If you are a behavioral health provider and are interested in joining TIIPIN, please email Megan Gomeza at [email protected].

C-WHO is seeing firsthand the urgent need to increase access to behavioral health services to rural Americans. We believe the GRITTE Project will not only have a significant impact on the critical behavioral health services shortage in Idaho but will provide a model for other communities across the country to do the same. Learn more about C-WHO's work at www.c-who.org.

 The project described is supported by grant number G0142534 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS.

Media Contact:
Megan Gomeza
208-722-4051
[email protected] 

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SOURCE Cornerstone Whole Healthcare Organization Inc.