TULSA, Okla. — People in the Claremore area are about to get a new center for mental health and substance abuse, with GRAND Mental Health opening a new live-in facility there on Nov. 14.
2 News listened to those involved about the need for more access across Oklahoma.
Much of the state lacks access to in-person mental health care, whether it be in rural or urban communities.
The map above from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services shows the estimated prevalence of untreated adults in each county, using 2020 data.
In Tulsa County, 81% are estimated to go untreated. While 97,000 need treatment, almost 80,000 don’t receive what they need.
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The rates jump even higher in counties like Rogers, Wagoner, or Osage — with 86%, 90%, and 93% going untreated, respectively.
GRAND Mental Health is one organization expanding services in rural and urban areas throughout Green Country.
The Covid-19 pandemic raised awareness of mental health and the need for more access, GRAND’s crisis services director told 2 News.
“Our consumer base has grown, and we’ve also learned a lot through this,” said Thomas Comstock. “We now provide a lot of services through telehealth, utilizing iPad services, and a lot of more nontraditional type[s] of therapy services that we didn’t do before Covid as much. And especially working into the rural communities, like GRAND does -- we focus a lot on the rural communities -- we’re able to reach people that couldn’t get mental health services in the past.”
On Thursday, they will open their Horizons Enhanced Residential Care Facility in Claremore. Comstock explained that when the care that people get at home or from their community isn’t enough, they can stay at an RCF.
Horizons and its 24/7 care team will provide live-in treatment for up to 22 patients who need more assistance or services than they can get at home.
“The main goal of the RCF,” said Comstock, “is to reintegrate them back into society. How they can get back into society, live in society, and still deal with their mental health issues and difficulties that they deal with on a daily basis.”
At Horizons, patients will get meals, medication administration, laundry services, exercise programs, transportation, counseling, and social outings and activities to help them pursue a more independent lifestyle.
GRAND will coordinate with the ODMHSAS through a referral system to admit clients into the program.
The opening of this new facility comes almost a year after GRAND opened its Family Treatment Center in Claremore.
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