The University of Louisville Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging Flourish Network seeks to improve the physical health, behavioral health, and well-being of older adults living in rural and medically underserved Kentucky communities.
The Flourish Network and its five programs address several overarching challenges facing older adults in rural communities:
The strong correlation between the prevalence of chronic medical conditions and poor behavioral health.
The workforce shortage that is needed to provide appropriate primary care and behavioral health services.
The challenges of integrating behavioral health services into rural primary care while addressing the difficulties of decreasing the chronic disease burden in rural Kentucky.
A lack of supportive environments that promote physical and behavioral health, especially for rural older adults.
The need to provide appropriate physical and behavioral health services to the growing Hispanic population in rural counties
The need for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Supportive Education and Resources.
With our HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training grant, we are able to provide integrated behavioral health services to older adults in rural Kentucky through student education. Learn about our Flourish Behavioral Health Internship Program funded by this grant here!
The Institute's Flourish Behavioral Health Internship Program funded by our HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training grant.
The Flourish Care Coordination Model.
The Flourish Care Coordination Model in a new, innovative, and evidence-base approach to healthcare grounded in the concepts of social determinants of health & integrated care coordination. This model links the clinical and behavioral health care plans with a community care plan to ensure the entire health picture is addressed. The Flourish Model of Care improves the health of individuals, gives them greater control over their health, and reduces costs to medical practices. Click here to learn more about the Flourish Care Coordination Model.
The Institute's Flourish Network was established in 2015 by a $2.25 million Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) grant. In 2017, the Flourish Network was able to increase its behavioral health focus when Institute received $1.92M Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program grant. This second grant allowed the Flourish Network dramatically increase its efforts to integrate behavioral health treatment into rural primary care settings.