Governor Gordon Announces Roadmap to Improve Mental Health Care in Wyoming

On Monday, Governor Mark Gordon announced the launch of an initiative to address the ongoing mental health crisis in Wyoming. Gordon’s “Mental Health Roadmap” takes steps to advancing systemic behavioral health reform in Wyoming, identifying five pillars that are critical to improving outcomes for those who are battling mental health issues.

The five pillars are access to healthcare, affordability of healthcare, quality of healthcare, innovation and suicide prevention and anti-stigma efforts. Each of the five pillars has priorities and key strategies to achieve those priorities. Some of the priority strategies identified in the mental health roadmap incorporate work that is already underway. This includes the Mental Health Diversion Court Pilot Project in Campbell County; healthcare workforce development efforts through the Wyoming Innovation Partnership and Veterans Talking to Veterans.

Other strategies are included in the Governor’s budget proposal, including full funding for the Wyoming 988 suicide prevention hotline, along with the addition of text and chat services; redesign of community behavioral health services; funding for pediatric virtual mental health services; and funding for mobile crisis services to support first responders when they respond to behavioral health crises.