Research indicates people with mental and substance use disorders may die decades earlier than the average person — mostly from untreated and preventable chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease that are aggravated by poor health habits such as inadequate physical activity, poor nutrition, smoking, and substance use. Barriers to primary care — coupled with challenges in navigating complex healthcare systems — have been major.
At the same time, primary care settings have become the gateway to the behavioral health system, and primary care providers need support and resources to screen and treat individuals with behavioral and general healthcare needs.
LFS works alongside many local healthcare providers as we provide the behavioral health component to our integrated care partnerships.