By Mountain Family Health Centers
Local magazine Mountain Parent highlighted our new Basalt Integrated Health Center in their February/March 2019 edition. We appreciate the opportunity to talk about Mountain Family’s dedication to being on the cutting edge of health care. The article is included below and can also be read on the Mountain Parent website or with this PDF,
Cutting Edge Care: Mountain Family Health Centers Celebrates the Grand Opening of Its New Integrated Health Center in Basalt offering medical, dental, and behavioral health care under one roof.
Sponsored Content by Mountain Family Health Centers
By Oyen Hoffman, MA, LMFT, LAC, MAC, Mountain Family Health Centers Clinical Specialist and Substance Use Services Supervisor
One might not think that a community health center would be at the forefront of medical and behavioral health integration, but it’s true. Mountain Family Health has four clinic locations in Edwards, Glenwood Springs, Rifle and of course our newest renovated and updated clinic in Basalt. Mountain Family Health Centers (MFHC) treats the indigent and the wealthy, the old and the young, the insured and the underinsured, and even folks without any insurance at all. MFHC believes that the mind and body are connected and the best way to treat our patients is to treat the whole person, regardless of the ability to pay. This holistic approach often yields the best possible medical outcomes for our patients.
With a behavioral health staff made up of ten licensed behavioral health clinicians, one psychiatric nurse practitioner and several support staff, the MFHC integrated care model is running at full-steam. Our behavioral health staff comes from many different disciplines and cultures. The entire behavioral health staff can treat post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and we also focus heavily on substance use disorder treatment. Several of our licensed clinicians are fluent in Spanish and we have a Spanish translator in each clinic. Our team can also help with couple’s issues, family problems and children’s challenges.
Carol came in to MFHC for help with her anxiety and depression. After meeting with her primary care provider, she was referred to the behavioral health team. The clinician diagnosed Carol with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and began helping Carol resolve the past traumatic events that had plagued her for many years. Today, Carol lives a much healthier life. She no longer feels the need to drink as much alcohol as she was before, and she even stopped smoking! Carol was stuck in her unresolved trauma which was making her mental health symptoms worsen, which lead to increased medical issues such as chronic pain and insomnia. Carol has her life back now and reports living a life that she could never dream of just one year ago. Her medical complaints have dissipated, and she no longer feels the need for therapy and comes to the clinic now for what mainly amounts to basic biannual medical check-ups.
If you, or someone you know, is dealing with a problem that may need a team of highly trained medical and behavioral health specialists, give Mountain Family Health an opportunity to help.