Breaking the Barrier: Vail Health’s Precourt Healing Center Promises Accessible Mental Health Care for High Country Residents

In the high country, residents often face challenges when it comes to accessing mental health care. This is because larger cities typically have more resources available, making it difficult for those in smaller communities to receive the help they need. However, Vail Health’s Precourt Healing Center is set to change this.

Under construction, the 28-bed inpatient facility will provide prompt assistance to those going through a mental health crisis. Currently, residents must travel to bigger city hubs for inpatient care, often having to wait for available beds to become available. But with the Precourt Healing Center, those in need of mental health care will have a facility right in their own backyard.

Kim Goodrich, program improvement director for Vail Health’s Behavioral Health Service, spoke about the importance of this new center. “The closest [facility] would be Grand Junction or Denver,” she said. “There’s a lot of people in the emergency room waiting, hoping that something opens up.” With the Precourt Healing Center, residents won’t have to wait as long for the care they need.

Vail Health has made sure that patient care is at the forefront of every decision made during the construction of this center. Craig Cohn, chief real estate development officer, explained that everything goes into patient care. This includes amenities like a gym on each floor for both adolescent and adult patients and supervised outdoor areas that provide fresh air – something not always available in other facilities that cater to crisis care.

Construction of the center is projected to be finished in six months, with staff hired and prepared to receive patients by next spring