In response to Colorado’s growing mental health crisis, UCHealth made a $150 million commitment in 2019 to expand behavioral health services across the state. Six years later, that investment has significantly improved access to care across Colorado, helping to address one of state’s most pressing public health challenges.
“When the initiative launched, more than 380,000 Colorado residents were not receiving the mental health care they needed,” said Elizabeth B. Concordia, UCHealth president and CEO. “We knew we had to take a bold step to help address this growing problem. Behavioral health is essential to overall health and today, our patients have access to numerous outpatient options, virtual behavioral health services, new inpatient behavioral health units and interventions to help prevent suicides and unnecessary arrests.”
Behavioral health experts integrated into primary care settings
One of UCHealth’s most impactful investments was to integrate behavioral health into primary care clinics. To date, licensed behavioral health specialists are embedded into 62 primary care clinics, growing to 65 by year’s end. These specialists work hand in hand with primary care physicians to provide immediate resources to patients. To date, more than 204,000 visits have taken place.
“At UCHealth, integrating behavioral health into primary care reflects our commitment to caring for all our patients’ needs, both physically and mentally,” said Elicia Bunch, UCHealth’s vice president of behavioral health. “We know that individuals with behavioral health conditions in our communities often do not get necessary treatment. This approach brings mental and physical health together in a familiar setting and helps reduce the stigma and barriers that have kept too many patients from getting the help they need.”
John, 77, is a patient at a UCHealth primary care clinic in northern Colorado. About six months ago, he began experiencing new symptoms and brought them up during a routine visit with his physician. Recognizing John’s need for additional support, the physician immediately connected him with the clinic’s licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Working together, they developed a care plan that combined therapy and medication to address John’s concerns. The integrated approach made a meaningful difference.
“The process was seamless,” said John. “Having my trusted primary care provider connect me with someone in the same office allowed me to get help quickly, without requiring me to get a referral, go to a different location or navigate the insurance coverage process. I feel so much better, and I’ve been telling my friends, many of whom are also struggling, about how quick and easy it is to get help.”
Additional key milestones in UCHealth’s behavioral health expansion:
- In 2023, UCHealth increased the number of psychiatric beds in the state by opening a brand new 40-bed inpatient unit at University of Colorado Hospital. Just over 1,200 patients have received specialized care in this unit.
- In December 2025, UCHealth will open a new 50-bed inpatient behavioral health unit at Poudre Valley Hospital, increasing capacity to care for approximately 500 additional patients per year.
- UCHealth’s Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation (CeDAR) now accepts major insurance plans, increasing access to residential and outpatient programs. Since late 2019, CeDAR has seen an 85% increase in outpatient visits and a 60% increase in residential services.
- UCHealth clinicians now partner with nine law enforcement agencies to respond to behavioral health crises in the community. Of the more than 14,000 calls handled since November 2022, over 85% were resolved without arrest or emergency department visits.
- UCHealth has grown virtual behavioral health services, expanding access to care across the state. Since 2019, over 430,000 requests for services have been received.
- UCHealth established a virtual behavioral health group therapy program for patients who need higher levels of support in rural communities, and to date, 1,400 patients have received care through this program.
- UCHealth conducts over 2 million suicide risk screenings annually, helping to identify and support high-risk individuals by connecting with the right levels of care.
- UCHealth has opened three behavioral health specialty clinics offering electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), Esketamine and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), treating major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and other complex behavioral health diagnoses.
“We’ve seen the transformative impact of these expanded services firsthand,” said Dr. Andrew Sylvester, psychiatrist and medical director of the virtual behavioral health group therapy program. “Our virtual behavioral health group therapy program can admit patients from anywhere in the state and of the almost 1,400 patients treated in our various groups, we have had patients from Trinidad, Julesburg, Craig and other rural locations who would have otherwise had limited access to group programming. In just over three years, we’ve gone from offering a few groups to patients at risk for hospitalization to 17, providing human connection, education and support.”
UCHealth will continue to expand behavioral health access for patients in the coming year and is partnering with the University of Colorado Anschutz and Children’s Hospital Colorado on the University of Colorado Anschutz Campus Mental Health Collaborative. Funded by the Anschutz Foundation, the collaborative is focused on merging research with clinical care to further improve mental health care across the state.