SMA Health Care outlines crisis, outpatient and residency expansion serving Volusia County

Tori Gentoli, vice president of community engagement at SMA Health Care, told the Daytona Beach commission on July 15 that the nonprofit now serves a six‑county footprint and provided services to more than 21,000 people in Volusia County during fiscal year 2024–25.

Gentoli traced SMA’s evolution from the ACT Corporation and Stewart Marchman Center through a 2008 merger and later rebranding. She said the organization added primary care in 2018 and now provides a continuum of care that includes outpatient treatment, residential programs, primary care and a 24/7 crisis receiving center at the Chet Bell Crisis Center on Red John Drive.

"We have free walk in screenings," Gentoli said, describing two local access points: the Cantley outpatient center at 702 Ridgewood and the Chet Bell Crisis Center, which she said operates around the clock and accepts Baker Act and voluntary admissions. She described a mobile crisis response team that can conduct phone or video consultations and, when appropriate, respond on scene, typically within about an hour.

Gentoli provided fiscal figures for the region: she said SMA’s Volusia County operations generated about $52 million in revenue in the most recent fiscal year, part of an approximately $98 million company-wide total, and that roughly 60 percent of funding comes from federal and state grants. She told commissioners that SMA reinvests surplus funds into services, staffing and facility renovations.

The presentation highlighted the renovation of the former Stewart Marchman/ACT facility into a less institutional crisis center and the launch of a psychiatry graduate medical education (GME) program. "We just started our second year of this program," Gentoli said, noting the program has 20 residents and aims to recruit and retain psychiatrists for the region.

Commissioners asked about access for unhoused residents, program outreach and medication affordability. Gentoli said the crisis center can assess individuals, perform medical checks and, when appropriate, prescribe medication. She added SMA operates a pharmacy that can leverage 340B pricing, which she described as dramatically lowering costs for patients who qualify.

On partnerships with law enforcement and outreach, Gentoli described the DART paramedicine program that pairs counselors with Daytona Beach Fire Department paramedics to engage people after nonfatal overdoses and follow up within 72 hours.

Gentoli closed by offering tours of SMA facilities and contact information for people seeking services. The commission accepted the presentation; no action was required.