Opinion: Time to think big for behavioral health

C.J. Davis

When I arrived in Springfield almost seven years ago to become CEO of Burrell Behavioral Health, one of my main goals was to help amplify what was then a quieter community conversation about behavioral health. I take great pride in how our team, and our community at large, have changed the tenor of this conversation in such a short time.

The work doesn’t stop here. We must continue advocating for those who have been suffering through anxiety, depression and addiction in silence while also improving on how we innovatively increase and enhance behavioral health care access.

To do so, we must collectively think big in providing support and access for the growing number of people speaking up and seeking out life-changing behavioral health care.

Across Springfield and the Ozarks, you’ll find many examples of efforts to better address behavioral health needs. A critical example: When I joined Burrell, there were no 24/7, walk-in dedicated behavioral crisis care facilities in Springfield. Soon there will be two – the Behavioral Crisis Center for adults and the Youth Resiliency Campus for our children, both operated by Burrell. These entry points to life-changing care wouldn’t exist without the buy-in from local and state leaders who’ve responded to the needs voiced by many stakeholders and members of our community.

This is not a time to say, “Mission accomplished.” Instead, we must look at the progress made across our community and ask one another, “How can we build upon these efforts?”

To fellow business leaders, I urge you to consider behavioral health care as an equal to traditional primary health care.

This involves the following:

• Our communities, who must be encouraged and supported to receive “mental check-ups” just as they would a physical.
• Our payors, including insurance companies and federal and state agencies, who we continue to urge to cover, fund and reimburse our services as they would traditional health care. There is no health care without mental health care.
• The health care industry itself. Decades of mergers and acquisitions have led to consolidated, large systems in almost all major markets. In recent years this same mentality has taken root in the behavioral health space, accelerated by workforce shortages and increased funding opportunities. Partnerships signal to the community our commitment to expanding our mission. For example, Burrell and Preferred Family Healthcare – and a handful of our subsidiaries – joined together in early 2022 to form Brightli Inc., for which I also serve as CEO. Upon creation, Brightli immediately became one of the largest community behavioral health companies in the nation. For our 2025 fiscal year, Brightli will be comprised of more than 5,000 incredible team members in five states, including almost the entirety of Missouri.

These efforts take work, clear communication and a dash of fearlessness. We are in constant conversation with our stakeholders to cast the important vision of expansion into new markets. The future of quality, accessible behavioral health services depends on mission-committed organizations like ours investing and innovating to serve people in better ways.

Over half of all adults with a mental illness across the U.S. aren’t receiving any treatment, according to Mental Health America, and we must improve upon that if want our communities to thrive.

In Springfield and across all the Brightli regions we serve, we have seen community members and leaders respond to the challenge. Reducing the stigma around mental health is a major step. Supporting the expansion of mental health services is a major step. That’s our way of big thinking and clear in the communities we serve it’s yours, too.

What’s your next big step? Let’s work together to take it.

C.J. Davis is president and CEO of Burrell Behavioral Health and the CEO of Brightli. He can be reached at cj.davis@burrellcenter.com.