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.

"Cuando se lanzó la iniciativa, más de 380.000 residentes de Colorado no recibían la atención de salud mental que necesitaban", dijo Elizabeth B. Concordia, presidenta y directora ejecutiva de UCHealth. "Sabíamos que teníamos que dar un paso valiente para ayudar a abordar este problema creciente. La salud conductual es esencial para la salud general y hoy en día, nuestros pacientes tienen acceso a numerosas opciones ambulatorias, servicios virtuales de salud conductual, nuevas unidades de salud conductual para pacientes hospitalizados e intervenciones para ayudar a prevenir suicidios y arrestos innecesarios."

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.

"En UCHealth, integrar la salud conductual en la atención primaria refleja nuestro compromiso con la atención de todas las necesidades de nuestros pacientes, tanto físicas como mentales", dijo Elicia Bunch, vicepresidenta de salud conductual de UCHealth. "Sabemos que las personas con problemas de salud mental en nuestras comunidades a menudo no reciben el tratamiento necesario. Este enfoque une la salud mental y física en un entorno familiar y ayuda a reducir el estigma y las barreras que impidieron que demasiados pacientes reciban la ayuda que necesitan."

John, de 77 años, es paciente en una clínica de atención primaria de UCHealth en el norte de Colorado. Hace unos seis meses, empezó a experimentar nuevos síntomas y los mencionó durante una visita rutinaria con su médico. Reconociendo la necesidad de apoyo adicional de John, el médico lo puso en contacto inmediatamente con el trabajador social clínico (LCSW) titulado de la clínica. Trabajando juntos, desarrollaron un plan de cuidados que combinaba terapia y medicación para atender las preocupaciones de John. El enfoque integrado marcó una diferencia significativa.

“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.”

Otros hitos clave en la expansión de la salud conductual de UCHealth:

• 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.
• En diciembre de 2025, UCHealth abrirá una nueva unidad de salud conductual para pacientes hospitalizados de 50 camas en el Hospital Poudre Valley, aumentando la capacidad para atender aproximadamente 500 pacientes adicionales al año.
• 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.
• Actualmente, los clínicos de UCHealth colaboran con nueve agencias de seguridad para responder a crisis de salud conductual en la comunidad. De las más de 14.000 llamadas atendidas desde noviembre de 2022, más del 85% se resolvieron sin visitas a arrestos ni urgencias.
• UCHealth amplió los servicios virtuales de salud conductual, ampliando el acceso a la atención en todo el estado. Desde 2019, se recibieron más de 430.000 solicitudes de servicios.
• 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.