Editor’s note: The caption of the photo in this story has been updated to correct the location of the clinics.

The end of September will bring another milestone for behavioral health access in Summit County. 

By Sept. 21, there will officially be three medical resources all in one space on the first floor of the Medical Office Building in Frisco. 

Front Range Clinic, Mile High Behavioral Healthcare and the Summit Community Care Clinic will be working together to provide myriad services to patients from in and outside of the county. 

“This really came out of some work that was done, actually, prior to the pandemic,” said Jen McAtamney, the executive director of Building Hope. “We were looking for more treatment options around substance use disorder. We were looking for peer services — just really a whole gamut of things that were missing in our community.”

For the past few years, officials in Summit County have been collecting local mental health resources to aid community members. According to past reporting, officials have said they want to create a safety net within Summit County to support locals. 

Addiction treatment, resources for those who are in prolonged mental health crisis and support for those in the LGBTQ community have all been part of this goal, said McAtamney. 

McAtamney added that she hopes both the Front Range Clinic as well as Mile High Behavioral Healthcare, both of which come from the Front Range, will play a part in the effort.

“We are so excited for them to be able to bring that expertise up to Summit,” she said. 

Front Range Clinic is a medical resource for people who are experiencing alcohol or opioid addiction. The location has been open and serving clients since February 2022, according to Dayna DeHerrera-Smith, the business development manager for Front Range Clinic. 

So far they have had around 10 clients, but DeHerrera-Smith estimated they will have many more clients once Mile High Behavioral Health is officially up and running. 

Mile High Behavioral Healthcare, whose office is called Mile High Integrated Care at its location in the Medical Office Building, offers behavioral health services to a wide range of populations. They also offer housing support and integrated care.

The partnership between the clinic and Mile High is something McAtamney is very excited about. McAtamney said it’s very common for people who want to treat their addiction to also need behavioral health treatment. 

“Those agencies are working to coordinate with one another,” McAtamney said. “So if a client is engaged in services here and they need to get additional services, there will be a seamless way of that client being able to move into those other services.”

DeHerrera-Smith said she has high hopes for the efficiency of the system.

She imagined it being as simple as, “Hey, we recognize that this individual needs a little bit more support. What does availability look like for today?” DeHerrera-Smith said as an example. “Let’s get them scheduled with your services as well.”

The other benefit of this clinic, McAtamney said, is the financial accessibility of their resources. All of the clinics accept Medicaid insurance, and DeHerrera-Smith said the Front Range Clinic accepts Medicare and most commercial insurance. 

DeHerrera-Smith added they can also provide a sliding fee scale.

“Typically, if finances are the only concern for folks, we will get that figured out,” she said. “I do not want anybody to feel like we cannot access services because finances are a barrier.”

The event on Sept. 21 will be a chance for the providers to meet the community and for people to tour the facilities.

DeHerrera-Smith said the partnership with Building Hope has been very successful so far, and she can’t wait to start building more relationships with the Summit County community. 

McAtamney shared her gratitude for the partnership. 

“I will just tell you — both those organizations — I’ve been so impressed with them,” McAtamney said. “They really are deeply committed to serving the most vulnerable people in our community, and they walk that walk every day.”