Fenway Health’s Behavioral Health (BH) Department would like to share some updates about the way we are able to care for the important needs of our community. 

As noted in a recent Boston Globe article, there is a long wait for primary health care and health services throughout the state. This is the result of extremely high demand – fueled in no small part by the COVID-19 pandemic – coupled with a shortage of medical and behavioral health clinicians. 

Fenway Health has been significantly impacted by these constraints, with our Behavioral Health team currently facing a 50% shortage in staffed positions. This has led to a significant wait list for our services. 

Given these challenges, we have made the difficult decision to take steps to ensure resources are available to better meet the needs of our patients and more quickly move people off the Behavioral Health wait list into care.

• We will be capping sessions for all Fenway BH patients at 12 visits. We understand that this may be shorter than many clients would prefer. However, research shows that short-term, strengths-based interventions can be equally or more effective than longer-term models. This cap will significantly reduce our waiting list, allowing more folks who are experiencing behavioral health crises to receive 3+ months of care. At the end of the 12 sessions, we will provide referrals and resources to help find a new provider. We encourage you to discuss this with your Fenway BH provider.

• All BH patients 18 years or older need to also have a Primary Care Physician at Fenway. This has been our longstanding policy for most of our adult patients and will allow us to ensure that all clients have access to the most comprehensive care across their entire patient experience. It will also make for better communication between BH providers and medical teams for a smoother patient-centered care plan. This change brings Fenway in line with the standards for most community health centers.

• Out-of-state patients can no longer access virtual appointments and will need to meet with their provider in person. This is due to state licensure laws. Fenway Health is not licensed to provide services outside of Massachusetts, and pandemic exceptions to these regulations have expired.

We understand that these changes may be upsetting for some patients. They are unfortunately necessary given our current staffing and resource challenges. We do believe that ultimately, these changes will allow us to provide services to many more people in our community who are in desperate need of behavioral health care. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and for allowing us to be your health care home. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please email Monique Willett or Frank Fleming at information@fenwayhealth.org.