{"id":19094,"date":"2024-02-21T14:55:14","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T19:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/fammed\/?p=19094"},"modified":"2024-02-21T20:22:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T01:22:46","slug":"fit-wellness-receives-5-5-million-investment-from-ncdhhs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/fammed\/2024\/02\/21\/fit-wellness-receives-5-5-million-investment-from-ncdhhs\/","title":{"rendered":"FIT Wellness Receives $5.5 Million Investment from NCDHHS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services NCDHHS is investing $5.5 million to expand the FIT Wellness program, part of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program (NC FIT)<\/a> led by Evan Ashkin, MD, in the UNC Department of Family Medicine. The investment aims to improve reentry services for the justice-involved population. FIT Wellness delivers psychiatric and physical health care services along with connections to community supports such as housing, transportation, and phones for people in the state prison system who have Serious Mental Illness. The program is a collaboration between the UNC departments of Family Medicine and Psychiatry. Ted Zarzar, MD, is the Lead Psychiatrist for FIT Wellness, overseeing the program.<\/p>\n

Serious Mental Illness affects 15% of men and 31% of women in jails, and 85% of the prison population has a substance use disorder or was incarcerated for a crime related to substance use. Since 2020, NCDHHS funding has created or expanded 23 diversion programs for substance use disorder and 29 community-led reentry programs for substance use disorder delivered by a range of agencies.<\/p>\n

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NC FIT Team 2024<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As part of its historic $835 million investment to transform behavioral health, the 2023-2025 state budget invests $99 million to support for people who are involved in the justice system by increasing services related to reentry, diversion and capacity restoration for people who interact with the justice system.\u00a0The department\u2019s investment aligns with Governor Cooper\u2019s recently announced Executive Order No. 303<\/a>, which provides for a whole-of-government approach to improving reentry for formerly incarcerated people in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

“We are moving quickly to make the most of our new investments and get people the behavioral health care they need and deserve,”\u00a0said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “By partnering with UNC School of Medicine and proven programs like NC FIT, we make an immediate difference because we are investing in care that we know works.”<\/p>\n

Currently operating in Wake County, FIT Wellness offers continued psychiatric care for people with SMI who are being released from state prison. Participants work with a Peer Support Specialist with a personal history of incarceration and other care team members who assist with the development of a comprehensive reentry plan for a participant\u2019s physical and behavioral health care needs.<\/p>\n

Compared to the general population, people reentering society after incarceration are 50 times more likely to die from an overdose during the first two weeks post-release. With the right behavioral health care and connections to community support systems to meet their needs, 75% of FIT Wellness participants have had no emergency department visit within three months of release, and 81% have had no hospital visit.<\/p>\n

“After an individual is released from an incarcerated setting, it can be quite difficult to navigate treatment services, transportation, employment and housing,”\u00a0said Kelly Crosbie, Director of the NCDHHS Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services. “By connecting returning citizens with a knowledgeable peer and a support team, FIT Wellness ensures people with SMI have access to fully integrated health care and the community supports they need during a critical time of transition.”<\/p>\n

Since August 2022, FIT Wellness has accepted referred participants from across the state, representing 30% of North Carolina state prisons. The $5.5 million investment from NCDHHS will help to expand these services to additional counties, improve resources and increase the number of patients served by the program. The investment will provide for an estimated 100 additional patients per site to be served annually through the new FIT Wellness locations.<\/p>\n

Funding provided by NCDHHS will be used to:<\/p>\n