Behavioral healthcare provider Ava Health announced it will open in Grand Junction on Feb. 9. It will occupy several buildings in the area, and the company’s headquarters will be at the former Rocky Mountain Health Plans building at 2784 Crossroads Blvd.

In a Jan. 14 news release, Ava Health described itself as:

• dedicated to delivering accessible, outcome-driven treatment.
• working to fill a significant gap for the region.
• providing private-pay quality care that is accessible to all.

“We founded Ava Health to prove that high-quality behavioral healthcare doesn’t have to be reserved for the top 1 percent,” Ava Health CEO Christopher Bennett said. “Our mission is simple: Make care adaptable, accountable and accessible to every community, starting right here on the Western Slope.”

Bennett added Ava Health chose Grand Junction for its headquarters, “because it sits at the intersection of need and possibility. This community has been underserved for far too long, and we’re committed to building a model here that not only serves our neighbors, but sets a new national standard for what’s possible when care is delivered with dignity, transparency and purpose.”

According to the news release, Ava Health will offer a full continuum of care for mental health and substance-use disorders, including:

• sub-acute stabilization.
• medical detox.
• residential treatment.
• a partial hospitalization program.
• an intensive outpatient program.

ª transitional housing.

• outpatient detox.
• outpatient services.

Ava Health will accept Medicaid, commercial in-network and out-of-network insurance policies and private pay.

All levels of care are licensed by the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration and will be nationally accredited by the gold standard of healthcare regulatory agencies, The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the news release said.

Ava Health will work in partnership with community stakeholders such as Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Regional Hospital; Community Hospital; Mesa County Public Health; the 21st Judicial District; Bridges of Colorado; Mesa County Sheriff’s Department; and many others to provide an integrated and community-designed and implemented suite of services to Mesa County.

Ava Health anticipates its presence will have a significant impact in Mesa County, economically and from a community-health-needs perspective.

Bennett said Mesa County faces one of the most significant gaps in behavioral healthcare access in Colorado.

“In the past twelve months alone, 580 individuals in crisis were transported from Mesa County to psychiatric care – 464 of them all the way to the Front Range – because the Western Slope simply lacks the capacity to serve them,” Bennett said. “Right now, there are only 14 acute psychiatric beds between Denver and Salt Lake City, all located at Vail Health.

“This leaves families, law enforcement and emergency rooms carrying a burden they were never designed to hold. Too often, people experiencing a behavioral health crisis end up in jail cells or ER hallways instead of in treatment. At Ava Health, we see this as unacceptable. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to partner with providers and community leaders to expand local access, build the continuum of care that doesn’t exist today, and begin addressing these systemic gaps head-on.”

Ava Health has hired 40 employees with professional positions averaging well above the median annual wage for Mesa County, the news release said. The company anticipates hiring an additional 25 employees within the next two months, collaborating closely with Colorado Mesa University to recruit local talent.

Through the Colorado Enterprise Zone Tax Credit Program, Ava Health is eligible for tax credits, allowing it to reinvest those resources directly back into its staff, services and the community, the news release said.

“From day one, the local support we’ve received in Grand Junction has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Bennett said. “For nearly two years we have embedded ourselves into Grand Junction and Mesa County, with community leaders, partners and stakeholders who have leaned all the way in with us, helping remove barriers and create opportunities, so that Ava Health could take root here. That kind of belief and collaboration doesn’t just help us launch, it ensures we can grow in a way that truly serves this community for decades to come.”

For more information about Ava Health, its mission, and employment opportunities, please visit www.HelloAvaHealth.com.