Expanding Access to Behavioral Health Services for Veterans and Their Families

• Identified key factors that led to the successful establishment of the UBHC center, including committed staff members from both participating organizations, strong working relationship among staff members, a grant that catalyzed its establishment, and media attention that helped raise awareness of its services;
• Identified key implementation barriers, such as insufficient senior-level buy-in from the local VA, difficulty meeting the needs of both participating organizations during construction of the new facility, sustainability issues for the model, and a lack of institutionalized procedures for collaborative activities;
• Analyzed service use for the center and found that, although the VA and private provider sides of UBHC had different patterns of use, both sides succeeded in becoming operational and delivering a substantial amount of services in a short time frame;
• Found improvements in clinical outcomes, including fewer behavioral health problems among child patients and, among adult patients, improvements in depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, family functioning, and quality of life;
• Found overall patient satisfaction with care, particularly among family members who appreciated care providers who were knowledgeable about and sensitive to the experiences of veteran families; and
• Produced an issue brief and full report documenting the implementation of UBHC and its delivery services and care outcomes: “The Unified Behavioral Health Center for Military Veterans and Their Families: Documenting Structure, Process, and Outcomes of Care.”

Based on the evaluation, RAND provided recommendations for UBHC to improve its services and for other providers that wish to learn from or replicate the model, including:

• Formalize the role of a VA staff member to act as a liaison between the two sides of the clinic to integrate treatment plans, share access to patient records, and ensure strong communication between the two sides;
• Create a physical environment that is both family-friendly and conducive to collaboration; and
• Create a continuum of services, which would allow either side of the clinic to make referrals to other resources outside of UBHC’s scope of services (e.g., financial support, legal, and other family-related services).

Following the release of the report, NYHealth hosted a public discussion, “Public-Private Partnerships: Behavioral Health Needs of Veterans & Families,” in conjunction with the Mental Health Association of New York City, to disseminate the findings widely.

Co-Funding and Additional Funds Leveraged: N/A