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Sentara expands behavioral healthcare services with new clinic and increased hours
New outpatient center in Hampton, Va., offers services for mental health and substance abuse
America is facing an in mental health and substance abuse.
One in five adults experience mental illness, and around 5% have . In 2022, nearly 108,000 people , a five-fold increase from 2002.
In response to the growing community need, 猫咪社区 is expanding services for behavioral health, a term that includes mental health and substance use disorders.
On November 8, Sentara opened a new clinic for behavioral healthcare in Hampton, Va., across the street from the Sentara CarePlex Hospital.
The new outpatient center is Sentara’s first dedicated behavioral healthcare clinic on the Virginia Peninsula and expands access in the region. Clinic staff include therapists and advance practice providers such as nurse practitioners. In-person and virtual appointments are available by self-referrals as well as referrals from hospitals, emergency departments, and primary care providers.
In Spring of 2025, Sentara also plans to open a new outpatient center at Sentara Blue Ridge Internal Medicine in Charlottesville, Va., which will be Sentara’s first dedicated behavioral healthcare clinic in the Charlottesville area.
“We’re meeting patients where they are,” said Ken Dunham, M.D., executive director of medical operations for behavioral health at Sentara, at the opening of the outpatient center in Hampton.
“We’re meeting people upstream from the hospital before they have a crisis. We can also provide follow-up care for patients after they’re discharged. And patients can come to us on referral from their physicians.”
Sentara already has dedicated outpatient clinics in Virginia Beach, Halifax, and Harrisonburg, Va.
In spring of 2024, Sentara’s behavioral healthcare clinic in Virginia Beach, Va., began offering virtual appointments during weeknights and on Saturdays. As a result of the expanded services, the center treated around 90 more patients each month. Sentara launched that clinic in 2022.
Katie Bush, director of behavioral services, said that Sentara’s physicians and providers have been asking for more behavioral health resources.
“When you don’t have resources, then small problems can become bigger ones,” said Bush. “Primary care is usually a patient’s first behavioral health stop, but more services are often needed and we want to fill that gap.”
“The relationship between primary care and behavioral health is really crucial,” added Bush. “It should be an integrated relationship. The continuity and coordination of care is so much improved when it’s all in the same network.”
Sentara is an integrated delivery network that includes 12 hospitals, five free-standing emergency departments, more than 1 million health plan members, and a medical group that completes more than 2.8 million patient visits annually.
Behavioral health is considered a key component of overall health and has significant effects on long-term health outcomes, said Bush. When patients have an improvement in their depression, anxiety, or other mental illness, then the rest of their healthcare follows, she said.
Sentara is also looking at expanding behavioral healthcare services in other regions.
One in five adults experience mental illness, and around 5% have . In 2022, nearly 108,000 people , a five-fold increase from 2002.
In response to the growing community need, 猫咪社区 is expanding services for behavioral health, a term that includes mental health and substance use disorders.
On November 8, Sentara opened a new clinic for behavioral healthcare in Hampton, Va., across the street from the Sentara CarePlex Hospital.
The new outpatient center is Sentara’s first dedicated behavioral healthcare clinic on the Virginia Peninsula and expands access in the region. Clinic staff include therapists and advance practice providers such as nurse practitioners. In-person and virtual appointments are available by self-referrals as well as referrals from hospitals, emergency departments, and primary care providers.
In Spring of 2025, Sentara also plans to open a new outpatient center at Sentara Blue Ridge Internal Medicine in Charlottesville, Va., which will be Sentara’s first dedicated behavioral healthcare clinic in the Charlottesville area.
“We’re meeting patients where they are,” said Ken Dunham, M.D., executive director of medical operations for behavioral health at Sentara, at the opening of the outpatient center in Hampton.
“We’re meeting people upstream from the hospital before they have a crisis. We can also provide follow-up care for patients after they’re discharged. And patients can come to us on referral from their physicians.”
Sentara already has dedicated outpatient clinics in Virginia Beach, Halifax, and Harrisonburg, Va.
In spring of 2024, Sentara’s behavioral healthcare clinic in Virginia Beach, Va., began offering virtual appointments during weeknights and on Saturdays. As a result of the expanded services, the center treated around 90 more patients each month. Sentara launched that clinic in 2022.
Katie Bush, director of behavioral services, said that Sentara’s physicians and providers have been asking for more behavioral health resources.
“When you don’t have resources, then small problems can become bigger ones,” said Bush. “Primary care is usually a patient’s first behavioral health stop, but more services are often needed and we want to fill that gap.”
“The relationship between primary care and behavioral health is really crucial,” added Bush. “It should be an integrated relationship. The continuity and coordination of care is so much improved when it’s all in the same network.”
Sentara is an integrated delivery network that includes 12 hospitals, five free-standing emergency departments, more than 1 million health plan members, and a medical group that completes more than 2.8 million patient visits annually.
Behavioral health is considered a key component of overall health and has significant effects on long-term health outcomes, said Bush. When patients have an improvement in their depression, anxiety, or other mental illness, then the rest of their healthcare follows, she said.
Sentara is also looking at expanding behavioral healthcare services in other regions.
By: Clancy McGilligan