UCHealth dedicates more than $100 million for behavioral health care

Patients and communities throughout state will benefit from enhanced services in primary care offices, virtual behavioral health, and an inpatient behavioral health unit
September 3, 2019
A care provider talks with a gentleman at a doctor's office. UCHealth is dedicating more than $100 million to enhance behavioral health care in Colorado. Clinical social workers will work alongside primary care physicians to help patients with behavioral health care needs.
UCHealth is dedicating more than $100 million to improve behavioral health care in Colorado. Clinical social workers will work alongside primary care physicians to help patients with behavioral health care needs. Photo: Getty Images.

In one of the region’s largest and most comprehensive investments into behavioral health, UCHealth, based on the Anschutz Medical Campus, is dedicating at least $100 million over the next five years to address behavioral health needs for patients across Colorado. Philanthropic donations of an additional $25 million, matched by UCHealth, could bring the total investment to $150 million.

“More than 380,000 Coloradans aren’t receiving the mental health care they need, 67,000 require substance abuse treatment, and on average, Colorado loses about 1,000 people each year to suicide,” said UCHealth President and CEO Elizabeth Concordia. “These numbers show how significant the need is in our state. UCHealth is making this investment to provide comprehensive behavioral health care, and we’re calling on other organizations to join us.”

In addition to enhancing and growing UCHealth’s existing behavioral health services, the investment will improve access to care through three key initiatives:

  • Integrating behavioral health with primary care: Teams of licensed clinical social workers and psychologists will work hand-in-hand with primary care physicians to provide immediate resources to the largest number of patients in need.
  • Tele-behavioral health consultation services: When patients and providers in emergency departments, primary care clinics or inpatient hospitals need consultations with a psychiatrist, UCHealth’s Virtual Health Center will provide the video connection.
  • A new inpatient behavioral health unit: The expansion of University of Colorado Hospital will enable a new inpatient behavioral health unit, likely opening in late 2023, to expand the services already available in other UCHealth locations.

“Attending to our patients’ behavioral health needs in a timely manner is critical to their overall health and well-being. This comprehensive approach to mental health and substance abuse treatment has the potential to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Coloradans,” said Dr. Neill Epperson, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “We know that 20% to 40% of primary care patients have a behavioral health need. By embedding services within primary care locations, we can treat these needs in a cost-efficient manner while still providing an expert psychiatrist for patients who need a specialist.”

A UCHealth employee works in the Virtual Health Center. The tools will be used to enhance behavioral health care for patients in Colorado.
When patients and providers in emergency departments, primary care clinics or inpatient hospitals need consultations with a psychiatrist, UCHealth’s Virtual Health Center will provide the video connection. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon for UCHealth.

UCHealth’s focus on behavioral health will provide earlier detection and treatment for patients with substance use and mood disorders, access to new addiction treatment services, and will remove barriers by providing the right care at the right time.

“I applaud UCHealth and their significant investment which will provide increased access to substance abuse treatment and behavioral health services for everyone in our community and across the state,” said Colorado Representative Jason Crow, Congressional District 6. “To fully address the needs of Coloradans, we need to work together to integrate mental health in primary care for all families. I will continue to work in Congress and urge other organizations, including health insurance companies, to ensure that mental and behavioral health services are accessible and covered at parity with all other services.”

“We’re committed to shattering the stigma of behavioral health with a community response that fortifies our collective efforts and meets our struggling residents where they are, and this approach to behavioral health – providing services within patients’ primary care offices – helps ensure equity in access while treating conditions in a positive, comprehensive way,” said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock. “UCHealth is addressing needs proactively, before our residents face a mental health crisis, and that means less reliance on emergency services and lower overall costs for patients and our communities.”

To increase the impact and number of people to benefit from the behavioral health initiative, UCHealth will provide an additional $25 million in dollar-for-dollar matches to any philanthropic donations to UCHealth to support the efforts. Donors may direct their funds to a specific need, program or location – for example, residential substance abuse treatment in metro Denver, suicide prevention in southern Colorado or tele-psychiatry to promote access to care across the state.

These efforts will complement and increase UCHealth’s current behavioral health services which include outpatient and inpatient psychiatric and substance abuse treatment, suicide prevention efforts, emergency department services, and several patient-centered medical homes that already embed behavioral health services in primary care clinics.

Colorado’s need for behavioral health is great:

Additional support for behavioral health care:

U.S. Senator Cory Gardner:

“I hear from my constituents every day about families who are unnecessarily suffering because they do not have access to mental health treatment. With rising suicide rates and a growing shortage of mental health providers, we are facing a mental health crisis. I commend UCHealth for taking substantial action to expand behavioral health care services and make mental health care more accessible. All Coloradans deserve access to health care services regardless of which corner of the state they are from, and tele-health plays a critical role in bridging the rural-urban health care divide. I look forward to continuing to work with UCHealth to support behavioral health care and telehealth services at the federal level.”

U.S. Representative Diana DeGette, Congressional District 1:

“We need all hands on deck to ensure that any Coloradan who needs mental health care is able to receive the treatment they need. Having facilities like UCHealth taking it upon themselves to ensure these services are available to more Coloradans who need them is invaluable for our community.”

Aurora Mayor Bob LeGare: 

“In the city of Aurora our police and fire departments have noted firsthand the growing need for mental health services in our city. This proactive investment by UCHealth and philanthropic donors will make a substantial positive difference in the lives of all Colorado residents.”

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers:

“I applaud UCHealth for taking a leadership role in the vital area of mental health care, which touches all segments of our community. The impact of mental health services can be life-altering, and I am pleased to see yet another positive development in the excellent health care community here in Colorado Springs.”

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock:

“We’re committed to shattering the stigma of behavioral health with a community response that fortifies our collective efforts and meets our struggling residents where they are, and this approach to behavioral health – providing services within patients’ primary care offices – helps ensure equity in access while treating conditions in a positive, comprehensive way. UCHealth is addressing needs proactively, before our residents face a mental health crisis, and that means less reliance on emergency services and lower overall costs for patients and our communities.”

Colorado Representative Jason Crow, Congressional District 6:

“I applaud UCHealth and their significant investment which will provide increased access to substance abuse treatment and behavioral health services for everyone in our community and across the state. To fully address the needs of Coloradans, we need to work together to integrate mental health in primary care for all families. I will continue to work in Congress and urge other organizations, including health insurance companies, to ensure that mental and behavioral health services are accessible and covered at parity with all other services.”

Vincent Atchity, president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado:

“There is no health that is more important than mental health. In Colorado’s own experience, as well as other states, we’ve seen that proper treatment and support improve outcomes and lower the demand on hospitals, emergency rooms, and the criminal justice system. UCHealth’s initiative should stand as a challenge to our state’s other major health care systems. If they all stepped up with the same level of investment, Colorado would take giant steps toward mental wellness.”

UCHealth President and CEO Elizabeth Concordia:

“More than 380,000 Coloradans aren’t receiving the mental health care they need, 67,000 require substance abuse treatment, and on average, Colorado loses about 1,000 people each year to suicide. These numbers show how significant the need is in our state. UCHealth is making this investment to provide comprehensive behavioral health care, and we’re calling on other organizations to join us.”

Dr. Neill Epperson, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine:

“Attending to our patients’ behavioral health needs in a timely manner is critical to their overall health and well-being. This comprehensive approach to mental health and substance abuse treatment has the potential to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Coloradans. We know that 20% to 40% of primary care patients have a behavioral health need. By embedding services within primary care locations, we can treat these needs in a cost-efficient manner while still providing an expert psychiatrist for patients who need a specialist.”

Kevin Unger, president and CEO of UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital and Medical Center of the Rockies:

“UCHealth has been providing behavioral health services in a number of facilities and in collaboration with community partners throughout northern Colorado for years. This initiative will enable us to dramatically help so many more people within this underserved population.”

Joel Yuhas, president and CEO of UCHealth Memorial Hospital:

“Our comprehensive plan will provide earlier detection and treatment by placing a focus on our primary care clinics. There, licensed clinical social workers and psychologists will become part of the primary care team, working with physicians, nurse practitioners and others to provide immediate resources to patients in need. We know the need for behavioral health services is great in the Pikes Peak region and all of southern Colorado, and we are excited to be able to further fulfill our mission of improving lives.”

 

About the author

Dan Weaver leads UCHealth’s communications team including public relations, internal and external communications. He joined UCHealth in 2011 as media relations coordinator for University of Colorado Hospital. Prior to joining UCHealth, Weaver was a reporter, photographer and medical producer at KUSA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Denver, CO, and WLTX TV, the CBS affiliate in Columbia, SC.