World Mental Health Day celebrates awareness for the global community in
an empathetic way,with a unifying voice, helping those feel hopeful by
empowering them to act and to create lasting change.
Thursday, October 10, 2019 is World Mental Health Day
Despite many challenges in health care at the national and state levels,
Boulder Community Health is providing our community with a breadth and
depth of exceptional mental health
care services, possible due to BCH’s independence and local governance.
As our community’s demand for mental health care increases, so does
BCH's commitment to evolving and extending crucial services. That's
why we offer the broadest and deepest range of behavioral health services
in Boulder County. Our services are offered on both an inpatient and outpatient
basis to best meet each patient's specific needs.
Three years ago, the BCH Foundation launched a campaign to support BCH’s
vision to expand access to critical mental health resources in the community.
Since then, BCH has:
• Opened the Della Cava Family Medical Pavilion in spring 2019, expanding
inpatient beds, outpatient resources and access to alternative therapies.
The Della Cava Family Medical Pavilion – the newest addition to our
Foothills Medical Campus — helps address the gap in our community's
mental health care. This state-of-the-art facility is transforming local
mental health care through its innovative services and inspiring design.
This facility houses all of BCH's comprehensive mental health services
in an innovative, thoughtfully-designed healing environment. At Della
Cava, a patient can find healing through the: Adult Inpatient Behavioral
Health Unit, Counseling Center/Outpatient Behavioral Health, Guerra Fisher
Institute & Boulder ECT and the Center for Mind Body Medicine. To
learn more about this amazing facility, please visit the
Della Cava Family Pavilion page.
• Introduced the
Anchor Point Mental Health Endowment to empower and support patients as they seek to maintain their personal
independence while they address their mental health (e.g., transitions/crisis
stabilization, health and wellness, treatment, education for front line
care providers).
• Expanded our
patient-centered treatment model that provides short-term behavioral health services right in our primary
care clinics.
• Launched
Opioid and Chronic Pain Response Program to prevent the spread of opioid abuse and treat opioid dependence.
• Established the
Community Collaboration Fund to help accelerate community partnerships, including many that intersect
with our mental health focus.
These significant investments have been made possible through the generosity
of over 450 individuals and organizations who share BCH’s commitment
to expanding access to critical mental health services.
We have raised $7.5 million towards our $8 million-dollar goal.
To support our bold vision to expand mental health resources to our community,
donations can be made at
bch.org/mentalhealth
Mental Health & Primary Care Visits
A year ago, BCH also hired a psychiatric nurse practitioner to help manage
the ever-increasing number of patients with mental health issues coming
to its primary care clinics.
All patients age 12 and older who come to Boulder Community Health receive
routine mental health screenings. Those who need it are offered a conversation
with a behavioral health case manager.
Eight behavioral health specialists in Boulder Community Health’s
primary care clinics help patients address their “whole health,”
typically focusing on the early stages of depression and anxiety. Patients
are not billed for a separate visit when they talk to a mental health
counselor.
By absorbing mental health care into 10 of our primary care clinics, there
is a direct introduction from physician to mental health specialist. This
“warm hand-off model” is attracting national attention and
buy-in from the insurance industry.
“We hope that we can help small storms from becoming tornadoes,”
said Julie Jungman, behavioral health program manager and a licensed clinical
social worker.