UF Health St. Johns to host ribbon-cutting celebration for expanded Behavioral Health Resource Center
WHAT: Mental health problems have reached epidemic proportions across the country. UF Health St. Johns has taken a leading role to meet regional needs in Northeast Florida that has set a national standard. In the latest effort, UF Health St. Johns is expanding its successful Behavioral Health Resource Center.
UF Health St. Johns is kicking off Mental Health Awareness Month with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to recognize this important expansion. The Behavioral Health Resource Center seeks to centralize care and expand access to mental health and substance use help for St. Johns County and surrounding areas.
Launched in 2022, the Behavioral Health Resource Center quickly filled an important gap in the St. Johns County area by reducing wait times to see providers and cutting down on emergency room visits. In its first year, the center saw nearly 1,000 visits with about 450 patients and expanded from weekday-only patients to serving the community 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Approximately 20% of these visits would likely have resulted in the patient being seen in the emergency room had the Behavioral Health Resource Center not been an option.
WHO: Valerie Duquette, director of the UF Health Behavioral Resource Center
WHEN: 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 1
WHERE: 300 Health Park Blvd., Suite 1008, St. Augustine, FL 32086
CONTACT: For more information, contact Matt Walker at mwal0013@shands.ufl.edu or 352-265-8395.