CVFP Medical Group Awarded SAMHSA Funding to Expand Integrated Primary and Behavioral Health Care
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lynchburg, VA – August 4, 2025 – CVFP Medical Group, in collaboration with the Medical Society of Virginia, is thrilled to announce that we have been awarded funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for our Integrated Primary and Behavioral Health Care programming. This funding, provided through the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), will support the expansion of access to behavioral health and substance use treatment services in underserved areas.
The SAMHSA funding will enable CVFP Medical Group to integrate care coordination and psychiatric consultation into primary care sites, using the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM). This model has a robust evidence base, with over 80 randomized controlled trials demonstrating its effectiveness in treating depression and other behavioral health diagnoses such as anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, and dementia. CoCM is also linked to better medical outcomes for patients with conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic arthritis.
"We are excited to receive this funding and look forward to expanding access to essential behavioral health services for our patients," said Shawn Crawford, CEO of Collaborative Health Partners & CVFP Medical Group. "This program will allow us to integrate behavioral health providers and care managers into our treatment teams, enhancing the quality of care we provide and improving patient outcomes."
HealthHaven’s Adult Psychiatric Access Line (APAL) is the psychiatric consultant and implementation partner for CVFP, with the goal of integrating a collaborative workflow that increases patient access to behavioral and substance use specialists. This is accomplished through APAL’s addiction medicine consultation service, which enables CVFP providers to access specialists and care navigators who can help them manage care and provide resources for patients with substance use concerns. HealthHaven also hosts a variety of adult behavioral health CME trainings for prescribing providers, and they will be funding scholarships for CVFP providers to attend these courses to integrate behavioral health treatment for their entire patient panel.
“HealthHaven is excited to partner with CVFP and offer our Adult Psychiatric Access Line’s resources directly to practices that are passionate about behavioral health care,” said Catherine Ford, APAL’s Program Director. “We anticipate this partnership being immensely impactful for both the CVFP providers and the patients they care for.”
As part of the program, CVFP Medical Group will hire behavioral health providers and care managers for their Appomattox and Piedmont practice sites. These professionals will be integrated into our treatment teams and workflows, making them available for training on CoCM, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and other integrated care topics. Additionally, we will develop and implement a patient registry to track patient outcomes and ensure that no patients fall through the cracks.
CVFP Medical Group is committed to working closely with the Medical Society of Virginia and DBHDS to ensure the success of this program and to make a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of the communities we serve.
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For more information, please contact:
Lauren Bennett, VP, Culture & Communications
CVFP Medical Group/Collaborative Health Partners
(434) 534-6726