Denver Health among first hospitals named Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic

If a book ever were written about the history of mental healthcare in Colorado, Jan. 6, 2026, would earn prominent mention because Denver Health, the public hospital where Dr. Chris Thurstone serves as chairman of behavioral health services, became the state’s first hospital to receive federal recognition as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). It is a designation very few, if any, hospitals in the United States have achieved, and it is the result of a dedicated team effort requiring years of research, planning, administrative and clinical adjustments and commitments, the creation and development of entire service lines and programs, and mountains of paperwork to support rigorous assessments during an extensive application process.

What it means for Colorado — and, possibly, for more of the country in time — is better healthcare, regardless of a person’s ability to pay for it, their diagnosis, or where they live. The CCBHC designation requires a comprehensive, coordinated and accessible model of behavioral health services — and granting it to an entire hospital better integrates behavioral health with physical health, allowing for holistic and robust patient care that includes 24/7 crisis support, emergency intervention, and stabilization.

“What a concept!” Dr. T has joked many times over the 20 years he has worked on this evolution of healthcare delivery. “The brain is a part of the body!”

When President John F. Kennedy signed Community Mental Health Centers into being in 1963, intentions were good — make that great — and launched the establishment of much-needed nonprofit and public community-based behavioral health organizations providing fantastic care still today. There are approximately 2,500 of these centers across the United States, nearly all designed as outpatient-focused care providers, separate from inpatient hospital settings — and they were never intended or equipped to treat or prevent other health problems.

I’m sure you see where this story is going — as did Dr. T when he was a resident in psychiatry in the late 1990s. When we arrived in Denver in 2003, he began working in earnest to create some of the very big building blocks that have culminated in Denver Health’s CCBHC designation — such as the Substance Abuse Treatment Education and Prevention program that provides integrated mental health care and addiction treatment on the campuses of dozens of high schools and middle schools in Denver. When he joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2012, he expanded his focus to specialized care for military veterans and their family members — and he also teamed with another Denver Health doc to create a novel training program in the hospital’s ER for service members assigned to assist with “combat stress reduction” in the field. Providing specialized care for veterans is required of all CCBHCs. When he earned his master’s degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine in 2024, he chose to study big data management to develop “learning health systems.” Tracking data to prioritize health equity, address social determinants of health and reduce disparities in outcomes is another CCBHC requirement.

That Denver Health has committed its resources and world-class medical expertise to meeting the requirements of CCBHC status is extraordinary and noble. Frankly, far too many hospitals operate as if mental healthcare is beneath them, and people who need it are not their ideal patients and must be transferred elsewhere. The entire Denver Health staff is gobsmackingly good and dedicated — and now it’s on track to do even greater things. In addition to improved access to care, CCBHCs provide an array of services Denver Health eventually may add to its offerings. In exchange, it will receive enhanced Medicare reimbursement and greater access to federal and state funding, much of which will help the hospital work in closer coordination with schools, nonprofits, and the justice system.

It’s a joy to do life beside the fella with the Christian faith, huge heart, big brain, steely determination, and silly sense of humor in the mix of all of this.