Meeting a Modern Need
Carondelet, El Rio Health Partner to Offer Full Behavioral Health Services
By Tara Kirkpatrick
In partnership with another venerable and historic organization that meets the needs of our times, Carondelet Health Network has joined with El Rio Health to offer behavioral health services for patients 18 years old and older.
Beginning last October, psychiatric inpatient services were made available at Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital and on-call coverage was offered at Carondelet St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s Hospitals.
The result is a comprehensive continuum of care for people in need.
“Our two organizations have been working to care for these patients for decades and together we bring an impressive solution for the community’s behavioral health needs,” said Monica Vargas-Mahar, Market CEO of Carondelet Health Network.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness. Fifty-seven million people visit physician offices each year with mental disorders as the primary diagnosis, and 5.8 million people wind up in hospital emergency departments every year for treatment of mental disorders and behavioral issues. A 2021 study reported by Making Action Possible for Southern Arizona, an organization aimed at fostering quality of life improvement, noted Tucson residents report 5.2 poor mental health days per month.
El Rio Health cares for approximately 10% of Tucsonans and has been in the community since 1970, said Dr. Brian Hess, Chief Medical Officer of Carondelet Health Network. “As such, they have significant behavioral health resources and have been a natural and successful partner for our behavioral health unit and across our network of hospitals in Southern Arizona.”
“We are pleased to have El Rio Behavioral Health’s experts engaging with our staff and available 24/7 for behavioral health emergencies at the Carondelet Health facilities,” Hess continued. “We are working through our collective channels and outreach to ensure those that have a behavioral health need can access our services, at any time, through our emergency departments or direct admission to care for any behavioral health need including substance use and dependency.”
Hess said leaders from both respected health organizations meet daily to discuss and assess best practices.
“Our patients have given us wonderful feedback that the care we provide is exceeding their expectations, and we have had great success early in this behavioral health collaboration,” Hess said.
PHOTO COURTESY CARONDELET HEALTH NETWORK
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