by North Forty News Staff | NorthFortyNews.com
New inpatient unit at Poudre Valley Hospital opens
UCHealth’s $150 million behavioral health initiative is delivering significant benefits for Northern Colorado as the region prepares for the opening of a new inpatient behavioral health unit at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital on Monday, Dec. 8. The unit is the final step in a three-part expansion designed to increase access to mental health care for residents significantly.
Six years into the statewide investment, more than 188,000 patients have already received improved behavioral health support through new clinics, expanded inpatient capacity, crisis response partnerships, and a significant increase in integrated primary care services.
UCHealth leaders say the effort is helping close long-standing gaps in mental health access across Colorado—especially in communities like Fort Collins, Greeley, and rural Northern Colorado, where demand continues to rise.
The new inpatient behavioral health unit at Poudre Valley Hospital will bring 50 beds to the region and serve approximately 500 additional patients each year. The unit replaces and relocates services from UCHealth Mountain Crest Behavioral Health Center to the hospital’s southeast Fort Collins campus, creating a single, expanded hub for both inpatient and outpatient care. UCHealth recently opened a new outpatient clinic across the street offering psychotherapy, medication management, group treatment, and more, and earlier this year launched an interventional psychiatry clinic providing ECT, TMS, and Esketamine services.
Across the state, UCHealth’s multi-year investment has also embedded behavioral health specialists into 62 primary care clinics—including locations in Northern Colorado—allowing patients to receive mental health support during routine visits. More than 204,000 such visits have taken place.
Other statewide impacts include expanded psychiatric bed capacity in Aurora, increased access to addiction services through CeDAR, partnerships with nine law enforcement agencies to reduce arrests during behavioral health crises, a significant expansion in virtual mental health services, and more than 1.2 million suicide risk screenings each year.
UCHealth leaders say the results demonstrate the life-changing potential of coordinated behavioral health care—especially for patients in rural municipalities where access has historically been limited.
UCHealth will continue expanding services in 2026, including through a partnership with CU Anschutz and Children’s Hospital Colorado to advance research and clinical treatment.
Learn more at https://www.uchealth.org.
Attribution: UCHealth
