NCBH Award of Excellence

 Stout Street Health Center Receives National Award of Excellence

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless’ Stout Street Health Center will receive the National Council for Behavioral Health Award of Excellence for its innovative approach to Integration and Wellness.  

DENVER, January 28, 2016 – Colorado Coalition for the Homeless’ Stout Street Health Center has been selected to receive the National Council for Behavioral Health Award of Excellence in the Helping Hands category for its innovative approach to Integration and Wellness. The award was selected from more than 1,000 nominations. The National Council for Behavioral Health is the unifying voice of America’s mental health and addictions treatment organizations and is committed to all Americans having access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery. The Coalition is honored to receive this recognition on behalf of the hard working and dedicated employees who offer hope, restore dignity, and improve the lives of those it serves every day. 



“The Coalition’s staff have embraced and embodied the philosophy that by providing housing in combination with integrated physical, behavioral, and oral health care we not only holistically address the entire health of those we serve but we have also greatly expanded access to health care and housing to a population often underserved and forgotten,” says John Parvensky, President of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.



“We were able to design the Health Center so that medical and behavioral health providers sit in the same area and see patients in the same corridor. This has changed our whole model of care, and made it possible for patients who have been unengaged with one discipline to get involved in the other with ease. It is much more difficult to maximize psychiatric care when patients get their medical care elsewhere,” says Dr. Elizabeth Cookson, Director of Psychiatry for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.



“Our patients are so happy to walk into this brand new facility built just for them, because they are used to getting the worst of the worst. It feels to me like a non-stop miracle. We all believe that this is a place where we create hope and healthy communities, and hopefully a better future,” says Mary Lea Forington, Director of Integrated Health Services for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

 

The mission of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless is to work collaboratively toward the prevention of homelessness and the creation of lasting solutions for homeless and at-risk families, children, and individuals throughout Colorado. The Coalition advocates for and provides a continuum of housing and a variety of services to improve the health, well-being and stability of those it serves. Since its founding more than 30 years ago, the organization has earned state and national recognition for its integrated healthcare, housing and service programs. The Coalition’s comprehensive approach addresses the causes of homelessness, as well as the consequences, offering critical assistance to over 15,000 individuals and families each year. Learn more at www.coloradocoalition.org.





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