As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged hospitals during its initial wave, CareSource sought to alleviate their workload while still effectively treating our members struggling with behavioral health concerns. Through a unique partnership with Community Behavioral Health in Indiana, we funded a mobile injection clinic to serve patients with serious mental illness and substance use disorders with low mobility. The clinic also served persons under investigation (PUI) or members who were COVID-19 positive.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Community Behavioral Health launched virtual appointments and consolidated in-person appointments to one or two clinics per region for psychiatric and substance use disorder injections for high-risk patients only. The reduction of access to in-person care created a need for a mobile clinic that would serve counties throughout central Indiana. Community Behavioral Health used an ambulance eight hours a day, five days a week, to administer injections at the homes of these patients, reducing COVID-19 spread while ensuring that patients were able to receive the care they needed.
“The mobile injection clinic offered an opportunity for us to serve the community while following social distancing rules and preserving hospital resources,” said Steve Smitherman, CareSource Indiana Market President. “At CareSource, we never stop problem solving to ensure members get the behavioral health care they need.”
