Following the passage of HB 1097, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) is in the preliminary stages of developing its ambitious Behavioral Health Administration (BHA). Robert Werthwein, the director of the department’s Office of Behavioral Health (OBH), says a considerable amount of stakeholder engagement remains before CDHS finalizes an official implementation plan.
“It’s going to be a phased approach it’s not going to happen overnight. And we do expect that we’re going to have to continue to work at this and we can’t be content with just a concept.”
The department is collaborating with consulting firm Health Management Associates (HMA) to develop a plan of action. It is currently in the “change management process,” during which HMA gathers input from state personnel and other stakeholders. HMA is using this input conducted through focus groups and open forums to draft potential models of what the new administration would look like.
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Colorado receives $94 million federal funding boost for behavioral health services
The Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) will receive more than $94 million in additional federal block grant funding to increase substance use and mental health services over the next four years as the state responds to higher demand brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBH has worked with stakeholders, including the state’s Behavioral Health Planning and Advisory Council and a diverse group of providers, to determine priorities for the stimulus funds. Among dozens of projects, OBH will use the first round of stimulus dollars, totaling more than $43 million, to fund equity, diversity and inclusion efforts; peer support and recovery services; and treatment for people with severe mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorder.
Colorado Newsline
Proposed cash fund would reimburse organizations for mental health, substance use resources
Flowers lean on a fence surrounding the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder where a day earlier, March 22, 2021, a shooter killed 10 people. (Carl Payne for Colorado Newsline)
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Colorado mobilized its State Emergency Operations Center to respond to the public health emergency.
The SEOC with the help of Federal Emergency Management Agency funding worked with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to expand health care capacity, launch dozens of community testing sites and process countless COVID-19 tests, and administer and distribute millions of coronavirus vaccines.
Western ranchers, farmers confront mental health crisis as COVID-19 lingers
Today 8:45 AM
Coupled with everyday worries about weather and commodity prices, the COVID-19 pandemic also has led to mental health challenges, including serious stress, anxiety and depression among farmers and ranchers, health officials said. Often, mental health providers are harder to come by in rural areas as well. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)AP
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By Vignesh Ramachandran and Eli Imadali, Kaiser Health News
KIOWA, Colo. The yellow-and-green facade of Patty Ann’s Cafe stands out on the main street of this ranching community just 25 miles from the Denver suburbs. Before the pandemic, the cafe was a place for ranchers to gather for meals and to swap stories.