By Lauren McKinnon
Down a hallway of windows facing the Wasatch Mountains and past paintings of summer groves, Huntsman Mental Health Institute therapists carry boxes of paints, nurses in dove-colored scrubs walk to the cafeteria, and patients arrive searching for help.
“As I interact with people at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute,” says Julee Millard, LCSW, director of social work, “I realize I could be anyone here given a different set of circumstances.” Millard works closely with people from all walks of life. Her team has watched nurses, lawyers, teenagers, college students, young children, and parents enter patient support programs and leave with a sense of hope.
“There isn’t any reason I can’t have a predisposition for schizophrenia or get in a car accident and have a head injury and no longer have the emotional regulation I had before,” Millard says. “The challenges and stress that people experience are universal, and next week it could be someone in your family.”
Yet many things can prevent someone from receiving the proper diagnostics, medications, and therapy services they need—or from encouraging a loved one to receive the adequate care they deserve. Negative stigma and fear of high costs prevent many people from walking through the institute’s doors.
Adult Inpatient Units
Housed under one roof, the hospital is home to nine units offering services for addiction recovery and a variety of mental health challenges. Five of the nine main units host adult inpatient services, where patients of all ages can stay for a week or longer while they are assessed and diagnosed, informed about medications, and included in therapy and group sessions. Two inpatient units are also available at University of Utah Hospital and the new Kem and Carolyn Gardner Mental Health Crisis Care Center.
The institute’s inpatient program is not what is typically portrayed in pop culture. Many patients wear their own clothes, select their own food and activities, choose to involve family members in recovery, and develop relationships based on safety and trust with staff members.
“It’s a community,” explains Kurt Sowles, RN, nurse manager. “We all get up together. We have our coffee, we go down to breakfast, we’re in and out of groups. It’s a real community environment, regardless of your background, where you came from, or where you are socioeconomically.”
Therapists, psychologists, doctors, nurses, and social workers collaborate to support patients. Translators are available for those who are admitted to inpatient services but don’t speak English. The building is large, full of sunlight and art, and feels a bit like an apartment complex with 160 beds total in mostly private rooms.
A Typical Day-to-Day
While receiving care at the adult inpatient units, patients can attend classes on art, music, nutrition, finances, medications, and a variety of other topics. Many patients enjoy taking walks through the courtyards. Medical check-ups are offered, including dental services at the Crisis Care Center.
All people receive the same care regardless of their insurance coverage. The majority of patients enrolled in the program are underfunded, but they visit the same therapists, doctors, psychiatrists, and pharmacists as anyone else. No one is treated differently because of their financial status.
Assistance and Support
Financial counselors and the self-pay billing office are available to support a patient’s financial questions and concerns. This can include eligibility screening for Medicaid, creating a payment plan, or assisting patients with financial assistance. Uninsured patients may receive a discount, which is automatically applied to billed charges.
From April 2024 to March 2025, needs-based financial assistance adjustments saved the institute’s patients $2.6 million.
“They show up, you give them care,” Monique Hickman, MEd, BSN, clinical nurse coordinator, explains. She says that providers never want anyone to avoid treatment because of their financial situation.
Breaking Down Stigma
A mental health crisis is not something a person chooses. No one can pull themselves up from their bootstraps and rewrite trauma, grief, genetic dispositions, chemical imbalances, or other situations that influence mental health. In moments of crisis, professional support can provide structure for a better future.
“Our mental health teams help people understand that they are not alone,” Millard says.
All patients are given autonomy and treated with equal respect. The environment is supportive and models mental health challenges as a normal part of life that no one should hide from or feel shame about.
“It’s like driving on the freeway,” Sowles explains. “I have this big van, and when I’m entering the freeway, my goal is just to get to the carpool lane. We do that for others, just help them get across the lanes of traffic to a place they feel safe.”
Ultimately, the real gift for the institute’s expansive team is watching people develop hope for their future. Armed with a community of people who care and a new skillset for coping, patients return to their daily lives stronger.
Patients are welcomed through the 24-hour Crisis Care Center or, alternatively, the ER. At both locations, nurses will check in to see if the patient feels like a threat to themselves or others, or if they are unable to care for themselves.
Under these circumstances, a patient can choose to enter the institute’s program regardless of their financial status. Most adult inpatient stays last up to a week but vary depending on the person’s needs.
“It’s like driving on the freeway,” Sowles explains. “I have this big van, and when I’m entering the freeway, my goal is just to get to the carpool lane. We do that for others, just help them get across the lanes of traffic to a place they feel safe.”
Ultimately, the real gift for the institute’s expansive team is watching people develop hope for their future. Armed with a community of people who care and a new skillset for coping, patients return to their daily lives stronger.
Patients are welcomed through the 24- hour Crisis Care Center or, alternatively, the ER. At both locations, nurses will check in to see if the patient feels like a threat to themselves or others, or if they are unable to care for themselves.
Under these circumstances, a patient can choose to enter the institute’s program regardless of their financial status. Most adult inpatient stays last up to a week but vary depending on the person’s needs.
An Extensive Network of Services
Inpatient adult services represent just a fraction of the institute’s contributions to the community. Clinics operate everywhere from Salt Lake Valley to Farmington, Park City, and even as far as Idaho.
At a glance, the institute has clinics, hospitals, and teams offering:
- Addiction support
- Assessments and diagnostics
- Crisis care
- Outpatient day programs for teenagers, children, and older adults
- Inpatient hospital stays for children, teenagers, and adults
- Autism spectrum support
- Paternal and maternal support, inpatient and outpatient
- A variety of research-supported therapies including but not limited to ketamine, electroconvulsive therapy, and transcranial magnetic stimulations
- Medical collaborative care offered through primary care providers
The Future of Affordable Mental Health Care
Savings from the 340B Drug Pricing Program help ensure that University of Utah Health can continue to provide these services to all patients regardless of financial status. Investments in clinics and hospitals establish U of U Health as one of the nation’s leading academic health care systems, empowering all 28,000 of its employees to give back to the community one patient at a time.
“People come in and say, ‘Wow, if I knew what this was like, I would have come in a long time ago,’” Sowles says.
Access to therapy, medications, and diagnostics needs to be easy. The institute’s team doesn’t want anyone to prolong mental health care because of negative stigma. Mental health is a necessary branch of medicine, and like any illness, there is no room for blame when tending to an injury.
“Until we begin to view mental illness as a condition that affects the brain, just like we view illnesses that impact the heart or kidneys, we will continue to suffer from the harmful effects of stigma,” says Dave Eldredge, MSW, LCSW, executive director of Huntsman Mental Health Institute. “Addressing both our physical and mental health needs can greatly enhance our overall well-being.”