Sept. 4, 2019, marks an important date in advancing health care in Colorado.
UCHealth announced a significant investment that will bolster behavioral health care for patients across the state. With an infusion of $100 million and an additional $25 million in matching funds, UCHealth will ensure that behavioral health therapists and psychiatrists are an integral part of the patient care experience. By building out its intensive outpatient, preventive and telehealth services, the health system will be able to better serve more individuals in Colorado, the Rocky Mountain region and beyond.
Please read UCHealth’s press release here.
This dramatic expansion of behavioral health care by UCHealth complements the efforts of CU Anschutz and Children’s Hospital Colorado to address mental health needs. Last fall, Children’s teamed with the CU School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry to launch Partners for Children’s Mental Health (PCMH), a statewide network of individuals, organizations and agencies committed to helping kids get the right mental health, at the right time, within their own community.
Taken in combination with the efforts of so many units of the university – including the Department of Psychiatry, the National Mental Health Innovation Center, the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center – the CU Anschutz Medical Campus is making progress toward reducing the harmful stigma that too-often keeps those in need of quality mental health care from seeking it.
“Together with our clinical partners, we will accelerate the pace of change in behavioral health care, and bring high-quality, integrated care to more of the millions of patients cared for each year.” – Don Elliman, Chancellor of CU Anschutz
“Our faculty have the expertise and resources to make a transformative impact on people’s lives,” said CU Anschutz Chancellor Don Elliman. “Together with our clinical partners, we will accelerate the pace of change in behavioral health care, and bring high-quality, integrated care to more of the millions of patients cared for each year.”
Dr. Neill Epperson, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the CU School of Medicine, said 20% to 40% of primary care patients have a behavioral health need.
“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,” Dr. Epperson said. “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.”
