SALT LAKE CITY, UT — August 12, 2025 – The Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah is proudly marking the 10th anniversary of its pioneering Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Program. This innovative initiative has significantly enhanced mental health care delivery across various primary care and specialty clinics in Utah.
Before the launch of the BHI Program in 2015, a substantial 41% of primary care patients faced mental health challenges, often prevented from receiving timely care due to long wait times, limited reimbursement options, and gaps in community provider contracts.
Over the past decade, the BHI Program has expanded its reach from just 5 clinic locations to more than 15, achieving an impressive 15% penetration rate. This statistic reflects that 15% of all primary care patients now receive integrated behavioral health care annually.
One of the most notable achievements of the program is the remarkable access to care it provides. Embedded social workers have been able to serve six times more unique patients each year compared to traditional outpatient behavioral health settings. This has led to a reduction in wait times, with patients waiting an average of only 10 days from referral to appointment, a significant decrease from the previous average of 74 days for traditional mental health services.
The BHI Program employs collaborative best practices that aim to foster self-determination, self-empowerment, and integrated medicine through strategic partnerships. The initiative sees licensed social workers embedded directly into medical clinics, thereby offering immediate mental health support alongside primary care services. This ‘warm hand-off’ model is instrumental in breaking down the barriers that typically hinder access to mental health care, enabling patients to access behavioral health services on the same day.
Dr. Crystal Armstrong, a physician who was among the first to join the program, expressed her enthusiasm for the model. She stated, “Having on-site mental health care is a game changer. When a patient is experiencing a mental health crisis, they need to receive the most effective, compassionate, and timely care. The social worker on site immediately assesses the patient’s needs, provides stabilization techniques, and connects them with the right resources. What used to be a lengthier process involving several staff members and me, now keeps things moving and helps my patients get the care they need within hours or days, not months.”
The Huntsman Mental Health Institute is a pioneering entity designed to tackle the critical issue of mental health and substance use disorders in the nation. By combining the resources of one of America’s leading research universities with the best integrated mental health crisis care model, the institute offers a comprehensive continuum of care, which includes a 161-bed hospital and over 85 outpatient locations.
In addition to direct patient care, the institute is dedicated to educating hundreds of learners annually, providing a range of unique educational opportunities in psychiatry and mental health. Through innovative research approaches that utilize “teams of teams,” the institute is well-equipped to address complex mental health challenges.
Supported by a generous gift of $150 million from the Huntsman family, the institute is committed to enhancing mental health knowledge, promoting hope, and facilitating healing for all.
For more information, visit hmhi.utah.edu and follow on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
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