VIP COMMUNITY SERVICES BIENESTAR VIP Community Services Cohort I Learning Community Region Bronx/ New York Ext. 7143

About Our Program The overall purpose of the Bienestar project is reflected in its name: Spanish for “wellness,” or overall well-being, as opposed to merely “health.” Specifically, it aims to improve engagement in and utilization of primary care health services and psychiatric services by a population characterized not only by co-occurring disorders (COD) of severe mental illness and substance abuse, but also by background poor health and service utilization of the primary population of origin: very low-income minority (generally Latino and African-American) populations of the Central and South Bronx.

Clients Served Eligibility continues to be based on: Axis I Substance abuse diagnosis, as evidenced by enrollment in one of VIP’s three substance abuse treatment modalities (residential, outpatient, Opioid/methadone treatment); Willingness and documented consent to accept enrollment in the Bienestar program. There is a preference for those using our own Health Services, but a few clients using other primary care providers are also enrolled. Participants may be enrolled at time of first admission into VIP, or as recruited from within another VIP service where they are already enrolled.

Our Team Felicia Ivey, LMHC, CASAC- Project Director Lynda Riquelme MPA, Clinic Administrator Honey Lance, LMHC- Project Coordinator Lesly Curtis, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Michael Duzdevich- MHC- Care Coordinator Samantha Robles- Peer Counselor

Next Six Months To develop closer integration and increase ease of follow- up between our substance abuse modalities and our in- house primary care Health Services. To ensure implementation and compliance of our new agency policy requiring entrants to our Residential Treatment Services to use our own Health Services (clients obtain an exemption from having an HMO plan during their residential treatment and “straight Medicaid allows for billable visits in Health Services. To increase both greater clinical coordination of primary care with substance abuse treatment and improve ability to follow up these clients particularly as they complete residential treatment programs and reintegrate into the community.