May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In talking about behavioral health, NCQA again is at the forefront of health measurement. The NCQA Distinction in Behavioral Health Integration program works with NCQA PCMHs to perform gap analyses and figure out how to bring better care to mental health and substance abuse patients.

One of the first health systems to qualify for our Behavioral Health distinction was New York-based Montefiore Medical Group. With their headquarters in the Bronx, Montefiore Health System includes more than 20 primary care locations in the Bronx and Westchester County. Over time, they realized how inseparable behavioral health care is from physical health care.

To talk about NCQA’s Behavioral Health Distinction, we welcome Dr. Jason Herrick, director of the Adult Behavioral Health Integration Program at Montefiore Medical Group, part of the Montefiore Health System. He’s also Assistant Professor for Pediatrics and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Coordinated Health Care has so many pieces to it. From PCPs to specialists, from nursing staff doing triage to front desk staff trying to keep the engines running, there’s no lack of work to be done. So we pause now to spotlight a significant, and often unsung, element of health care: the Community Health Worker.

Community Health Worker Breanna Burke works as a CHW at Healing Hands Health Center in Bristol, Tennessee. She spoke to NCQA about the important role played by the Community Health Worker in a December 2021 webinar hosted by NCQA President Peggy O’Kane titled “Effective Community Health Worker Programs: Critical Inputs for Supportive Systems.”

Later, in our “Matt’s Facts” segment, we talk about risk factors associated with developing a mental health condition.