Good Samaritan is proud to announce that the Samaritan Center recently received a $4 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The grant will be awarded over two years and will be used to expand services that they can offer as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center.

Kristi Scherer, Executive Director of the Samaritan Center, explained that the Samaritan Center currently offers all of the components of a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center, but certification requires more formal programming than was previously offered. “Because we agreed to these certification requirements, we were able to apply and receive this grant to further expand services within our communities.”

A new service that will be available to the community is a Mobile Integrated Care Unit. This mobile “office” will provide access to services for those living in remote, underserved communities who struggle to seek care due to financial and/or transportation issues. The mobile unit will be staffed at all times by a registered nurse, mobile unit coordinator, and a community resource specialist. A family nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse practitioner and licensed social worker will alternate weekly on the mobile unit.

Another portion of the grant dollars will be used for the Samaritan Center’s new Clubhouse Program that will support reintegration in the community for those with mental illness and improve access to supportive services. “The clubhouse will focus on helping our patients join society through education, employment and other forms of assistance,” said Scherer. “The location of the Clubhouse is still being assessed.” Another part of the Clubhouse will be the purchase of a ten-passenger van that will be used for transportation of clients to and from the clubhouse.

With the help of the grant funding, the Samaritan Center also plans to expand System of Care to encompass all ages throughout the service area and introduce a partial hospitalization program for substance abuse. The program will be a comprehensive and highly structured form of substance abuse treatment conducted on an outpatient basis. The program will consist of 20 or more hours per week of clinically intensive programming that will bridge inpatient substance abuse treatment with traditional outpatient treatment.

“We are very excited about the additional services, expansion of services, and the integration of behavioral and physical health this grant will allow,” said Scherer.

“Our Samaritan Center does a terrific job providing services and support to our communities,” added Rob McLin, President and CEO. “I am so proud that we received the SAMHSA grant and am excited to see what the future holds for our organization and patients.”