Carondelet Behavioral Health Partnership to Enhance Access to Behavioral Health Services

Two respected healthcare systems in Tucson, Arizona, have joined forces in a new partnership to enhance the community’s access to comprehensive behavioral health services and establish a complete continuum of care for people in need. Carondelet Behavioral Health in Partnership with El Rio Health will offer services to residents, age 18 and above, for a wide range of behavioral health issues.

Earlier this month, El Rio began delivering psychiatric inpatient services at Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital and offering on-call coverage at Carondelet St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s Hospitals.

Carondelet Behavioral Health in Partnership with El Rio Health provides an integrated approach with a team of licensed, behavioral health specialists to address chronic behavioral health issues. The team creates an individualized care plan aimed at managing mental and behavioral health conditions and meeting a patient’s healthcare goals. The areas of care include depression, adjustment disorders, hallucinations, suicidal or homicidal thoughts, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, psychosis, trauma and stressors, alcohol opiate and benzo detox, and acute symptoms related to mood disorders.

A 2021 study reported by Making Action Possible for Southern Arizona (MAP) ranked Tucson 6th among peers – tied with Phoenix and San Antonio – with 5.2 poor mental health days per month, as reported by residents. According to the CDC, more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness. Fifty-seven million people visit physician offices each year with mental disorders as the primary diagnosis, and 5.8 million people wind up in hospital emergency departments every year for treatment of mental disorders, behavioral and neurodevelopmental issues.

Mental health inequities cost an estimated $477.5 billion annually. The World Health Organization estimates that anxiety and depression alone cost the global economy $1 trillion each year in lost productivity.