News Clips
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
Navigating mental health challenges in Pitkin County’s criminal justice system
September 18, 2023
By: Anna Meyer
More than half of the average daily population in Pitkin County’s jail has a serious mental health issue, according to a 2022 report by Justice Planners. The high incidence of mental health issues among incarcerated populations is no coincidence; the lack of support for people struggling with mental health often results in entanglement with the criminal justice system.
The criminal legal system and mental health are deeply intertwined and can be tied to the rise and fall in the use of mental asylums, according to Mental Health ...
Access to mental-health resources keeps patients from seeking help
September 03, 2023
By: Anna Meyer
Last year, Mental Health America — a non-profit dedicated to the promotion of mental health, well-being, and illness prevention — ranked Colorado as having the worst ratio of prevalence of mental illness to access to care in the country.
The relatively narrow portion of people accessing mental-health care — 53.6% of individuals with a mental illness received treatment in Colorado, according to 2022 MHA data — is partly due to workforce shortages in mental healthcare, cost of care, and ghost networks, according to Vincent ...
988 crisis line looks to empower others through awareness and care
September 01, 2023
By: Sage Kelley
“As a nation, we are in a vast public health crisis when it comes to mental health," Vincent Atchity, president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado, said in a 988 review by The Association of Health Care Journalists. "There's a pediatric state of emergency when it comes to mental health."
There were 49,449 suicide deaths in the United States in 2022, increasing 2.6% from the previous year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read the full article in The Denver Gazette
Mental health resources available in Colorado
August 30, 2023
By: Brooke Williams
A recent report found that Coloradans struggle with mental health more than people living in most other states, ranking at No. 45 for adults and the state with the 10th highest rate of adults with suicidal thoughts. On the other hand, the report ranked youth mental health in Colorado at No. 11. The Centers for Disease Control reports that suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.
Thankfully for Coloradans, there are numerous local resources to find help and support.
Read the full article in ...
New Colorado law prevents medical debt from showing on your credit report
August 23, 2023
By: Jeff Anastasio
“You can go to annualcreditreport.com to get copies of your credit reports and review them to see if your medical information is still on there,” said Gilbert. “ If you do see an error, like if your medical data is still showing up even though this new law prohibits that you have the right to take action and file what's called a dispute.”
The Colorado Hospital Association, Mental Health Colorado and Healthier Colorado were among the major health organizations that supported the new law, but before its passage, critics ...
We must get to root causes of Colorado’s mental health crisis
August 29, 2023
By: Vincent Atchity
For 70 years, Mental Health Colorado has prioritized the health and well-being of Coloradans across the lifespan by improving access to and quality of care, supports and services while fighting against policies that perpetuate disparities and increase the potential harms of substance use. Our state is in the midst of a serious health crisis and we have to respond in a timely manner to provide immediate relief to Coloradans who are suffering and need our support.
But in order to promote healthier minds across the lifespan for ...
Suicide hotline 988 looks back at year, raises concerns for future
August 17, 2023
By: Sage Kelly
The 988 suicide and crisis lifeline began in July of 2022, looking to battle the ever-growing suicide rates head-on with ease and efficiency of a '911' type system. Following a year of services, mental health officials discussed the successes, and shortcomings, of the national system.
The Association of Health Care Journalists held a webinar on Thursday to discuss 988's first-year statistics and the questions that still remain going forward.
'As a nation, we are in a vast public health crisis when it comes to mental health,' said ...
