Children’s Hospital Colorado Receives Transformational Gift for Mental Health Care

The Anschutz Foundation has committed $25 million to Children’s Hospital Colorado as part of a $50 million challenge gift to the University of Colorado Anschutz. This is a historic milestone in Children’s Hospital Colorado’s vision and commitment to support the mental health and well-being of children across our region.

This extraordinary gift brings The Anschutz Foundation’s lifetime giving to Children’s Colorado to $50 million. The challenge gift announced today aims to generate $200 million in funding from public and private partners to advance collaborative efforts across the campus to improve mental health care from childhood to geriatrics.

A national leader in youth mental health care

“Since declaring a State of Emergency for youth mental health in 2021, we have been committed to improving care models and expanding access to expert care for kids in crisis,” said Jena Hausmann, president and CEO of Children’s Colorado and the Cille B. and Ronald W. Williams Endowed Chair in Executive Leadership. “Every child deserves a hopeful future, and together, this partnership helps us build it.”

The Anschutz Foundation’s investment validates Children’s Colorado’s position as a national leader in addressing youth mental health and empowers us to further collaborate with campus partners to advance a more connected, compassionate system at a time when our community’s need has never been greater.

Connecting kids to the right care, at the right time

With this funding and in partnership with a new campus entity, the CU Anschutz Mental Health Collaborative, Children’s Colorado will continue moving forward with our strategic plan to:

• Prevent suicide. Our plan strives to reduce suicide deaths and attempts, improve patient screening and provide comprehensive care through risk assessments and safety plans for at-risk individuals.
• Coordinate mental health care. Children’s Colorado aims to provide comprehensive support for families to facilitate a young person’s safe and successful re-entry from our care back to their home and community. Funding will expand services into primary care settings and schools.
• Integrate mental health into primary care. Our plan will integrate behavioral health into primary care settings to improve access to services and enhance patient, family and care team outcomes.
• Expand Crisis Care. Children’s Colorado is transforming patient care with expanded crisis services that will ensure rapid access to timely, effective care for patients and families during a mental health emergency.

Now is the time for partnership

In 2022, Children’s Colorado led the nation in hiring one of the first-ever pediatric hospital Mental Health in-Chiefs, Dr. Ron-Li Liaw. Under her leadership, Children’s Colorado has expanded education, partnerships and access to vital youth mental health care across the state of Colorado. Expanding the continuum of care has been essential to establishing a framework for ongoing work that’s needed in the years ahead.

“While the particularly acute phase of the pandemic-related youth mental health emergency may have passed, mental health challenges persist and require sustained attention,” said Dr. Liaw. “With the right policies, collaborations and investments, we can harness the momentum to build resilient and dynamic youth and family-serving systems.The CU Anschutz Mental Health Collaborative will lead the nation in addressing this ongoing area of child health and truly help children and families thrive.”

The Anschutz Foundation’s belief and confidence in Children’s Colorado’s mental health leadership and strategy helps us build a better future.