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Monumental Health presents county mental-health rankings, warns of state funding cuts
Summary
Michael Scallon, CEO of Monumental Health, briefed commissioners on county mental health rankings, service expansions under the CCBHC model, federal SAMHSA grants, and concerns about $6 million removed from a state mental-health grant in the Senate budget draft.
Michael Scallon, chief executive officer of Monumental Health, presented county health-ranking data and funding updates to the Geary County commission, highlighting local measures of mental-health burden and recent program grants.
Scallon reviewed data from a county-by-county health ranking, noting Geary County’s adjusted average of five mentally unhealthy days per month compared with a U.S. county average of about six days. He said the number of mental-health providers per 100,000 residents showed improvement as new programs and hiring increased under the certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC) model. "The more we create, the more programs, we add, that means that more providers are being hired... and it works," Scallon said, describing evidence-based services such as individual placement support and assertive community treatment.
He briefed the commission on grant-funded work: Monumental Health reported a two-year SAMHSA grant that provides $450,000 per year (a $900,000 total award) to promote integration of primary and behavioral health care in the agency’s service region. Scallon said the organization is adding a patient portal and plans to add primary-care screenings tied to behavioral-health services — not to replace primary-care clinics but to improve preventive and coordinated care for behavioral-health clients.
Scallon also summarized results from a SAMHSA-funded mental-health training grant: in year two the program trained 654 people (approaching a 750-person target for the grant period) across the 10-county service area. He said Pancakes for Pawnee fundraising events recently served about 335 attendees to support local work.
On funding, Scallon told commissioners that the Kansas House included $6 million for community mental-health reform grants, but that the Senate draft removed that $6 million. He said the change could affect local grant expectations and noted the state’s proposed Kansas Behavioral Health Center of Excellence funding remained under discussion. Scallon said he would follow up with county staff if appropriations and grant awards changed.
Commissioners thanked Scallon for the briefing and asked for county-level breakdowns of training and grant activity; Scallon said he would provide Geary County figures by request.
