Sixteenth Street to Open new Clinic Focused on Behavioral Health for Milwaukee’s South Side Community

Milwaukee – (November 21, 2019) – Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers announced today the opening of a new clinic delivering behavioral health services in collaboration with the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division (BHD). With a focus on prevention, early intervention, and same-day access, the clinic will offer community-based behavioral health and substance use services across the care continuum, increasing access for families on the south side of Milwaukee. This clinic is made possible by a donation of $3.7 million from the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network.

“We are so grateful for the Froedtert & MCW health network’s support and dedication to all factors that impact health. Because gaps in care for behavioral health and substance use issues continue to persist, people in need too often end up in emergency rooms or don’t get any help at all” said Dr. Julie Schuller, president and chief executive officer of Sixteenth Street. “Through this clinic, we want to reduce barriers to care by reaching people early and often in their own neighborhood and wrap them into our network of existing services for a true patient-centered experience. I am also thrilled to partner with BHD and work together to bring an enhanced set of services to the community.”

The Froedtert & MCW health network recently contributed $6 million towards the opening of a new Sixteenth Street medical clinic blocks away to increase access to community-based primary care.

“Behavioral health and substance use are consistently named by our community as significant health needs in Milwaukee and beyond,” said Cathy Jacobson, president and chief executive officer of Froedtert Health. “In conjunction with our previously announced partnership with Sixteenth Street to increase community-based access to primary care, this additional investment will enhance access to behavioral health services within the heart of Milwaukee. Partnering with Sixteenth Street and BHD will enable us to achieve a sustained impact addressing behavioral health needs that will truly make a difference in the health of our community.”

Sixteenth Street will deliver services aimed at prevention and reintegration by providing outpatient behavioral health, Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA), and Comprehensive Community Services (CCS). Sixteenth Street will serve an estimated 800 individuals, approximately 3,200 encounters, in the first year. BHD will provide on-site same-day walk-in services and mobile services, serving an estimated 1,250 individuals in the first year. Sixteenth Street and BHD services will be co-located on the same floor to create seamless integration. The clinic will serve both Sixteenth Street patients and community residents experiencing non-emergency behavioral health needs.

“Located in one of the four Milwaukee County zip codes with the highest number of individuals in need of behavioral health services and a significant number of Spanish-speaking residents, Sixteenth Street is well positioned to help provide culturally relevant behavioral health services that best meet the community’s needs,” said Michael Lappen, Administrator of Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division. “Our partnership with Sixteenth Street is a critical part of Milwaukee County’s efforts to increase early intervention services and create a racially equitable system of care that is accessible to all of our communities.”

The new clinic delivering behavioral health services will be located at 1635 W. National Avenue, previously owned by Badger Mutual Insurance. Sixteenth Street will own the 32,000 square-foot building and BHD will rent approximately 5,000 square-foot of space.

“The community and our building are very important to everyone at Badger Mutual.  We are very proud and pleased that it will be used by such a great local partner like Sixteenth Street,” said Kathy Bubeck, Vice President of Claims at Badger Mutual. “Knowing it will serve a bigger purpose of bringing much needed services to our growing south side community is all you can ask for.”

The clinic is expected to open in late 2020.

About Sixteenth Street

For 50 years, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers has been helping and healing our community, providing quality, family-based health care, health education and social services free from linguistic, cultural and economic barriers. Nearly 40,000 individuals rely on Sixteenth Street for adult and pediatric medical services, behavioral health and substance use counseling and treatment, chronic disease management, supportive social services, and health education. Sixteenth Street is accredited by The Joint Commission and recognized as a Patient Centered Medical Home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Learn more at www.sschc.org.

About the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division

The Behavioral Health Division provides care and treatment to adults, children, and adolescents with mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual disabilities through both County-operated programs and contracts with community agencies. Services include intensive short-term treatment through our crisis services and inpatient services, as well as a full array of supportive community services for persons with serious mental illness and substance use disorders. Learn more at https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/DHHS/BHD.

About Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin

The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health network is a partnership between Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin supporting a shared mission of patient care, innovation, medical research and education. Our health network operates eastern Wisconsin’s only academic medical center and adult Level I Trauma Center at Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, an internationally recognized training and research center engaged in thousands of clinical trials and studies. The Froedtert & MCW health network, which includes five hospitals, nearly 2,000 physicians and more than 40 health centers and clinics, draws patients from throughout the Midwest and the nation. In our most recent fiscal year, outpatient visits exceeded 1.3 million, inpatient admissions to our hospitals were 52,855 and visits to our network physicians totaled 1,059,268.  For more information, visit  froedtert.com.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.