Primary Care Integration: Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center, Case Example

Development of an Integrated Program

Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center (LWC) strives to be a hub of services to its clients and to treat the whole person through primary care integration. Between 2011 and 2013, LWC participated in Washington State’s Healthy Communities, Washington Healthcare Improvement Network in order to develop a system to manage care for clients with complex medical needs and to strengthen behavioral health agency collaboration with primary care providers. They saw the opportunity to participate in WA Healthy Communities as a means to expedite the integration process and focus on whole person care.

Development of an Integrated Program Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center (LWC) strives to be a hub of services to its clients and to treat the whole person. Between 2011 and 2013, LWC participated in Washington State’s Healthy Communities, Washington Healthcare Improvement Network in order to develop a system to manage care for clients with complex medical needs and to strengthen behavioral health agency collaboration with primary care providers. They saw the opportunity to participate in WA Healthy Communities as a means to expedite the integration process and focus on whole person care.

About Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center

Founded in 1968, Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center (LWC) is a not for profit behavioral health agency that provides a spectrum of community based services for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. LWC’s services include a 67 bed supervised living program, an independent living program in six apartment complexes, a Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT), an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), medical services, employment services, protective payee services, and community case management. LWC receives State Medicaid funding to serve its clients through a regionally operated entity known as a Behavioral Health Organization (BHO).

Key Factors to Integration at LWC

  • Leadership buy in
  • Medical providers interested in treating the whole person
  • Consistent communication between teams
  • In-service training
  • Flexibility
  • Organization's readiness and willingness to learn

Resource upload

Audience

Care Managers Psychologist/Mental Health/Psychiatrists

Practice type

Behavioral Health

Practice transformation

Community-Based Care Coordination Team Based Care Quality Improvement Practice Organization Population Health

Publication date

Policy and reference

Evidence