MATSUI, WELLSPACE HEALTH, ANNOUNCE $1 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO CRISIS SERVICES, COMPREHENSIVE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, CongresswomanDoris Matsui (CA-06) and WellSpace Health announce $1 million in federal funding to assist WellSpace Health in the planning, development, and implementation of a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) program. 

“Today’s announcement is an exciting step forward for the Sacramento region, as it aligns the integrated, community-centered care model provided by WellSpace Health, with the resources of the national CCBHC program,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “I have long been fighting for the funding and tools our communities need to support a range of physical and behavioral health services. By expanding the CCBHC program to the Sacramento region, we are increasing access to high-quality mental health and addiction care, giving trusted providers like WellSpace Health the resources they need to address complex treatment challenges and better serve patients across our region. CCBHCs have proven their ability to close the treatment gap and provide care when and where it is needed most. I am thrilled that WellSpace will be bringing these benefits to our Sacramento community.”

“WellSpace Health is honored and humbled by the trust placed in us to provide the comprehensive behavioral health care so many people need and deserve,” said WellSpace Health CEO and Licensed Clinical Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Porteus. “The CCBHC model provides a critical vehicle to address decades-old challenges that have led to a crisis in providing access to mental health and substance use care in our local community.”

Congresswoman Matsui has led the effort to expand community-based access to mental health services since introducing the bipartisan Excellence in Mental Health Act, legislation that established the CCBHC Medicaid demonstration and expansion grant program in 2014. This year, Congresswoman Matsui’s Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Act of 2021, legislation that authorized the nationwide expansion of the CCBHC program, was signed into law as part of S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

CCBHCs provide a comprehensive set of services, with an emphasis on the provision of 24/7/365 crisis care; outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment services; immediate screenings, risk assessments, and diagnoses; and care coordination including partnerships with emergency rooms, law enforcement, and veterans’ groups.

WellSpace Health is a non-profit community health system that provides comprehensive medical, dental, behavioral health, and supportive services to underserved people and neighborhoods in the greater Sacramento region. Last year WellSpace Health provided care to 125,000 people through 400,000 encounters in their primary care and behavioral health continuum of care and responded to 92,000 calls, texts, and chats made to its 988 Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Center.

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