A new behavioral health crisis center opened its doors in Fort Collins this weekend, available to Larimer County residents of all ages regardless of their ability to pay. For the first time, residents will be able to access multiple levels of behavioral health care, in one building, close to home.
The new center has arrived at a time when mental health struggles remain high in Colorado. This year, more than one in four residents reported poor mental health, according to new results from the Colorado Health Access Survey. The data also shows rates of mental illness have been rising over the past decade.
Acute Care is the first building to open on the 40-acre Longview Campus, a medical facility in Fort Collins run by Larimer County in collaboration with SummitStone Health Partners and UCHealth. The facility has 32 beds and eight reclining chairs.
To start, the facility will offer two services: withdrawal management and crisis stabilization. Withdrawal management, also known as detox, allows people to safely stop using drugs or alcohol. The crisis stabilization unit provides short-term inpatient care for individuals in acute psychiatric crisis.
"It's often like two, three, or four days where folks will stay with us. And it's really just a moment to focus on yourself, get assessed, possibly get some medications, get some coping skills, and then move on and try those in your life," SummitStone Health Partners CEO Michael Allen said.
Plans for the acute care building have been in the works for years. In 2018, Larimer County voters passed a sales tax increase to pay for county-based behavioral health services. The Longview Campus, which is funded by that tax, is home to the Acute Care facility.
“If you're having your worst day ever, having suicidal thoughts, homicidal thoughts, harm to yourself or others, or really just unable to get it together, we can help you,” Allen said.
The Acute Care facility is meant for locals who need short-term crisis care and is billed as an alternative to where some facing mental health crises end up: in jail or the emergency department.
“One of the purposes—we opened this in partnership with the county and lots of other providers in our community—was to divert from using the emergency rooms and our jails and law enforcement as the first door for mental health,” Allen said.
Sgt. Andrew Leslie, who supervises the Mental Health Co-Responder program within the Fort Collins Police Department, interacts with residents in crisis regularly. So far this year, the team has taken almost 1,800 calls, nearly three-quarters of them related to mental health. The majority of those cases get resolved without the need for further intervention after a visit from an officer, but many cases do require someone be taken to the hospital.
"We’ll take them to the behavioral health side of the ER. But trying to provide any type of acute care down the line... I’m hopeful this will be able to fill that gap a little bit. Not just the immediate crisis care," Leslie said.
Substance use is also a major issue. In 2022 alone, Larimer County residents went to the emergency department over 600 times due to drug overdoses. Leslie explained that without a withdrawal management facility in the county, much of this treatment has fallen to local hospitals and facilities further away.
“I would say that mental health issues touch way more people and way more demographics than people realize,” Leslie said. “It’s not just a certain group. I’ve seen it from someone who just comes into town and is experiencing homelessness all the way to somebody who is a well-established business owner with multiple houses. Mental health issues are so impactful for all of them.”
More overnight spots and services will be added to the Acute Care facility throughout the year, depending on the assessed needs of the community. Allen said it will be important to see how things go as the facility begins receiving patients.
"Who is coming through the doors? What do we need to open those to be? Is it more withdrawal management? Is it more shorter term residential services?," Allen said. "Those are the big needs we're assessing."
