Centerstone, a national leader in behavioral health care, has been awarded a $4 million annual grant over two years from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to expand and improve community health care. The focus population will include individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorder (SUD), co-occurring disorders (COD), and children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance (SED) throughout the region.

“Through this funding, we will not only work to expand services but also apply evidence-based practices to the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders and co-occurring conditions. A key component of this is advancing the integration of mental and physical health care,” said Melissa Larkin-Skinner, Regional CEO of Centerstone. “Our goal is to facilitate whole-person wellness and recovery.”

The grant will enable Centerstone’s outpatient facility on Sixth Avenue West in Bradenton to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). The establishment of a patient-centered behavioral health home for the community will help ease the rising cost of healthcare in the region through integrated prevention and treatment of routine and crisis mental health conditions.

Centerstone has appointed Jessica Crosby Sullivan, Psy.D. an 18-year veteran in behavioral health, to serve as program director. Dr. Sullivan returns to Centerstone after having founded and practiced with Crosby Counseling Center. She has extensive experience in addictions therapy and wellness counseling.

“Lack of coordinated, whole-person care leaves those needing behavioral health services at increased risk of mortality, suicide, substance abuse, hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness,” Dr. Sullivan said. “With this grant, we aim to reduce these disparities. Services will be wellness-focused and recovery-oriented as we help patients and families get the treatment and care they need.”