The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health has awarded Mental Health America of Greater Houston, a nonprofit organization, with a $259,092 grant to advance the development of an integrated health care educational system.
The organization received the funds to develop an online system, which would act as a virtual forum in which health care facilities throughout the state can learn more about providing integrated health care, said Merrell Foote, a spokeswoman for the Hogg Foundation.
Integrated health care is a system of providing medical care in which physicians treat patients’ symptoms, as well as any mental health conditions that may contribute to the initial health problem.
Mental Health of Greater Houston was chosen because of its past history in programs having to do with mental health and its unique proposal to develop the online forum.
“Basically, it’s an opportunity for groups who have common interests to discuss things,” Foote said.
Part of the grant money will also be used to pay staff members of the integrated system.
In February, the Hogg Foundation organized a request for proposals, in which they asked statewide entities to submit plans worthy of the grant money. The request closed in March and received less than a dozen proposals, Foote said.
Next year, the foundation plans to put forth a second grant aimed to help organizations pay for the cost of participating in the integrated health system.
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