Oklahoma City-based A Chance to Change has launched a new program, funded by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, to offer mental health services through telehealth, reports The Oklahoman.
A Chance to Change's goal is to expand patients' access to mental healthcare, because it currently sees patients from 20 distant counties. These patients often have trouble making appointments due to access to child care or work flexibility.
Part of the grant will go toward enhancing patients' access to HIPAA-compliant technologies stationed in local, private settings. This investment will help patients reach telehealth care, even if they do not have access to internet through smartphones or computers.
"One thing that we are seeing in Oklahoma [is] cuts to Medicaid [have] eliminated the access to services. Through this technology we can serve those clients, as well," Candice Hillenbrand, senior director of development and community engagement, told The Oklahoman.
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