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Project Name: Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program (U4C)
Applicant Title: BOARD OF REGENTS OF NEVADA SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Abstract Text: The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine (KSOM) at UNLV’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, in partnership with Chicanos por la Causa, NV (CPLC) will expand our state’s child psychiatry access program, the Nevada Pediatric Access Line (NV PAL) through support from HRSA funding. The NV PAL was created in 2020 through state Mental Health Block Grant funds, and took its first call in 2021. NV PAL is a telephonic consultation service whereby primary care clinicians statewide, serving youth ages 0-25 years, can speak to a child psychiatrist and receive education and support for managing youth with mental and behavioral health disorders in the primary care setting. Care coordination supports both psychoeducation to patients and families in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner. NV PAL aims to improve the knowledge, skills and comfort of primary care clinicians who serve youth with mental and behavioral health diagnoses. NV PAL has served 487 unique youth since program inception. Those 487 patients have had 741 consults from 96 different primary care providers working out of 30 clinics statewide. 77% of those providers are from Clark County; working out of 16 clinics. UNLV Pediatrics alone has 36 providers using NV PAL for 291 youth. Concurrently, 31 providers from 12 different Nevada Health Centers (the state’s largest federally qualified health center) across Nevada have used NV PAL for 82 patients. The average age is 11.3 with 70% falling within 5 and 15. The most prevalent consultation diagnoses are Depression, Anxiety, and ADHD, making up 72% of all consults. The NV PAL is currently funded through state grant dollars awarded to CPLC. CPLC sub-awards funds to UNLV for child and adolescent psychiatry effort allocation. This unique partnership has enabled the NV PAL team to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of Nevada’s large Hispanic population; all of our care coordinators are Spanish-English bilingual and have been instrumental in providing outreach and support to the Hispanic community. UNLV is a minority-serving institution, and between UNLV and CPLC, the NV PAL has been designed to flexibly meet the needs of the various cultures and ethnicities of the patients, families and primary care clinicians we serve. With support from HRSA funding, the NV PAL will partner with and grow the Nevada Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) HRSA funded PMCHA program. Specifically, the NV PAL will continue to provide child and adolescent psychiatry consultative support to primary care statewide and will grow upon the foundation of the DCFS’ database of providers and referral networks statewide, as well as will expand DCFS’s educational resources to include both Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) clinics as well as asynchronous modules both of which will award Continuing Medical Education and Continuing Education Unit credits to participants. In addition to expanding upon the DCFS foundation of education established with HRSA PMHCA funding, the NV PAL will also expand the reach of its consultative services to support the state’s thirteen critical access hospitals as well as to expand into school based health clinics. The NV PAL is a part of the National Network of Child Psychiatry Access Programs (www.nncpap.org) and participates in their School Based Health Center (SBHC) learning community. With support from both the NNCPAP-SBHC learning community and through technical assistance from Colorado’s program, the CoPPCAP, the NV PAL will successfully grow to support our school based health centers. PI: Lisa Durette MD, DFAPA, DFAACAP Email: xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx Address: 3014 W. Charleston, Suite 130; Las Vegas NV 89106 Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx Website: www.nvpal.org Funds Requested: $2,093,264