24 results for tag: #colorado

Two Colorado mental health centers merge, creating largest in the state

November 16, 2023 By: Jennifer Brown Two of Colorado’s community mental health centers will merge in July, creating the largest behavioral health center in the state. WellPower, which provides mental health services and homeless outreach in Denver, is combining with Jefferson Center, the safety-net mental health organization for Jefferson, Clear Creek and Gilpin counties. Together, the two have almost 2,000 employees and serve about 48,000 people per year. The centers have mobile medication-assisted treatment for patients addicted to opioids, walk-in crisis centers and outreach programs that send mental health professionals out with RTD ...

Denver’s Eating Recovery Center ignored patients’ repeated suicide attempts, state investigation finds

November 13, 2023 By: Seth Klamman Two young patients repeatedly attempted to kill themselves in a three-week span earlier this year at a leading Denver eating disorder clinic after a doctor told staff to ignore their behavior, a state investigation found. The two patients — aged 11 and 14 — arrived at the nationally renowned Eating Recovery Center’s Spruce Street clinic in Denver within a day of each other in early June. Both had histories of self-harm and suicidal ideation, in addition to their eating disorders. As their behavior escalated, lower-level staff raised concerns that they weren’t capable of caring for the patients. ...

Solitary Confinement Reform Challenges Spotlight Mental Health Care Need

October 18, 2023 By: Vincent Atchity A new law went into effect in July 2022 that limits how Colorado jails and prisons can use solitary confinement for people with certain mental and physical health needs. Some advocates saw the law as a small step forward toward the elimination of solitary confinement, which is associated with numerous health risks including increased suicide risk. Those advocates are right. It would be a small step forward, but only if it were fully implemented. Full implementation, however, is difficult to accomplish in many, perhaps most, counties. For example, Boulder County Jail, where more than half of the individuals ...

Colorado addiction experts prioritize care for individuals leaving carceral settings

November 7, 2023 By: Shane Ersland Helping Coloradans who struggle with addiction, particularly for individuals transitioning out of a carceral setting, will require greater availability of adequate treatment services in the state, according to health leaders. Harm Reduction Action Center Executive Director Lisa Raville and Mental Health Colorado President and CEO Vincent Atchity discussed the state’s addiction-related challenges at the 2023 Colorado State of Reform Health Policy Conference last month. “At Mental Health Colorado, we acknowledge that humans have used a wide variety of substances, ranging from caffeine and tea to things ...