Health Center separates from CMHSAS

Members of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Board of St. Joseph County voted Tuesday to separate the agency from the Federally Qualified Health Center.
The health center, located under the same roof as CMHSAS in Centreville, operates on a $1.4 million budget, with $831,000 of its annual funding coming from the federal agency Health Resources Services Administration.
Its current grant expires Jan. 31 next year. Because of the separation between it and CMHSAS, the health center will be on its own when it seeks renewal of the grant by Oct. 1, according to CMHSAS director Liz O’Dell.
CMHSAS board member Don Eaton said the separation is being sought because of federal regulations that want such agencies to stand alone and not to be controlled. Eaton likened the growth of the FQHC to “a small child that should be allowed to flourish.”
The center opened in February 2014.