Part of $1.5 Million Grant to Aid LG’s Bluebonnet Trails
Texas A&M University College of Nursing researchers are working with rural health care providers to increase access to quality care in Central Texas. These collaborative partnerships will integrate behavioral health and primary care services in rural health clinics to enhance patient care while providing education and training opportunities for future nurse leaders.
Over the course of three years, a $1.5 million Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant will be used to establish an academicpractice partnership with five different clinical sites to provide primary care led by family nurse practitioners (FNPs) strategically integrating with behavioral health services. With the College of Nursing as the hub of an integrated health network, students will have the opportunity to be immersed in clinical education and training while increasing access to care in underserved areas of the state.
This unique collaboration offers an innovative approach in addressing health care disparities by utilizing nurses to the fullest extent of their education and licensure while also supporting future nursing generations through firsthand clinical experiences. As part of the grant-funded project, there are two external partners — Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, a local mental health authority, and B.I.S. Community Clinic, a designated rural health clinic — offering both primary care and behavioral health services that would otherwise be inaccessible to patients in these rural areas of Texas.
This integration will include both in-person and telehealth models of care delivery to patients with acute and chronic conditions, and will include a specific emphasis on opioid use disorder prevention and treatment. The interprofessional collaboration outlines the placement of a licensed psychiatricmental health care professional in a school-based clinic and the expansion of integrated behavioral health services offered by Bluebonnet Trails Community Services. In addition, telebehavioral health services will now be offered through the B.I.S. Community Clinic.
Andrea Richardson, executive director of Bluebonnet Trails, said this partnership will reduce barriers for patients seeking quality care in these rural areas.
“Psychiatric care through virtual visits broadens access to specialty care while responding to an increasing professional shortage,” Richardson said. “Licensed, certified and qualified professionals providing psychiatric evaluations, medication reviews, counseling, skills building and care coordination improve the patient experience by decreasing or eliminating stressful travel time and costs, and increasing engagement through convenient, integrated health care.”
To support nursing students and better prepare them for delivering patient-centered care through telebehavioral health services, virtual reality simulation and telehealth delivery models will be key components in the educational objective of the project. Immersing students in care delivery through these technologies provides them with unique experience serving patients via telehealth, for both those entering the nursing workforce and those who are already professional, working nurses. The skills and comfort level needed in providing patient-centered care remotely will be fostered as nursing students use the technologies currently in place as part of their clinical education.