Larimer County outlines behavioral health strategy; Longview to open adolescent acute-care unit this summer

Amy Martonis, director of Behavioral Health Services for Larimer County, told the Board of County Commissioners on May 19 that the department has refined its purpose, values and six strategic priority areas in a planning process tied to the local 2018 sales tax measure that funds behavioral health work. "The purpose of our department is that we exist because our community values behavioral health," Martonis said.

Martonis said the community has generated about $128,000,000 in dedicated funding for behavioral health since 2019 and that three primary ongoing uses of those tax revenues are Longview’s construction and operations ($43,000,000 investment to build and open the campus), the Impact Fund grant program and co-response investments that pair clinicians with law enforcement. She told commissioners the Impact Fund has awarded 228 grants totaling $14,700,000 to 72 organizations and that the department invests approximately $500,000 annually in co-response.

Dr. Leslie Brooks, executive director at SummitStone’s Longview…