Eagle Valley Behavioral Health seeks to expand mental health services as Summit County’s community mental health provider

Eagle Valley Behavioral Health is expanding access to behavioral and mental health services in Summit County after the county government designated the provider as the county’s community mental health center earlier this year.

Mental health resources have long been lacking in Summit County and across Colorado. The county’s partnership with Eagle Valley Behavioral Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vail Health, aims to expand the availability of mental health services locally and reduce barriers to accessing help, according to Paige Baker- Braxton, director of ambulatory health for Vail Health.

“What we know statistically to be true is that mountain communities, rural resort areas and rural communities in general are at higher risk for significant mental health issues,” Baker-Braxton said. “A lot of this is our isolation from larger systems. But we also tend to see higher rates of mood disorders and substance use, particularly alcohol, in our community.

Colorado’s Behavioral Health Administration contracts with community health centers to provide mental health treatment services to families and individuals who are low-income or not covered by insurance.

Eagle Valley Behavioral Health accepts all insurance providers, Medicaid and Medicare as well as grant aid from Building Hope and Vail Health, Baker-Braxton said, providing therapeutic, psychiatric and case management services to anyone who needs it.

“Low barriers can not only save people’s lives, but also improve their overall health and well-being, as well as their ability to live in our community,” Baker-Braxton said. “We’re excited to partner with those who have already done the work and need more help.”

The partnership is expected to provide increased services to Summit County, including outpatient therapy, adult and child psychiatry and case management.

With access to state funding through the Behavioral Health Administration, Eagle Valley Behavioral Health will also work to support crisis services currently in place with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and bring online a new mobile crisis provider in 2024.

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Eagle Valley Behavioral Health has an office in Frisco that provides outpatient and case management services, Baker-Braxton said. That office will soon have four clinicians specializing in trauma and substance abuse, among the greatest mental health needs in mountain communities, she said.

In 2025, Vail Health plans to open the Precourt Healing Center, a 28-bed inpatient behavioral health facility in Edwards that will provide care to adults and adolescents experiencing acute psychiatric crises.

“Eagle Valley has demonstrated that it can provide high-quality behavioral health to Summit County, which is why the board is so excited to see this partnership move forward,” said Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue.