Welcome to The Census, your weekly roundup of what matters in behavioral healthcare.

Top stories this week: 

• On Our Radar: The rise of sensory rooms, and how local governments use — or misuse — opioid settlement cash.

• Catch Up Quick: The latest news headlines in under a minute. 

• One Good Thing: How a friend’s death turned Colorado teens into anti-overdose activists.

Let’s dive in.

- Shân

P.S. We’ve got a new layout for you this week, designed for even better skim reading.

Reading time: ~4 minutes.

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On Our Radar

What we’re watching this week 

✨ LA’s New $45k Sensory Mental Health Room 

Sensory rooms can lower psychiatric patients’ distress and reduce the use of restraint or seclusion — and they’re gaining traction. 

A sensory what now? Sensory rooms “combine immersive sensory experiences and meaningful activities to empower healing and emotional regulation.” 

• Think adjustable lighting, sounds, and tactile elements designed to both soothe and give patients autonomy over care

Amongst rising consumer interest (and peer-reviewed studies), an LA behavioral health center has opened a new sensory room funded by a $45k grant. 

• It’s designed to serve the county’s most vulnerable communities at Gateways Hospital

Why it matters: 10%+ of all ED visits are mental health-related, and EDs are famously ill-equipped to deal with this. Sensory rooms can provide a safe, controlled environment to the benefit of both patients and clinicians. 

Plus, this is part of a larger trend toward the use of sensory rooms in behavioral healthcare: 

• Consumers are clearly interested 

• Their use in inpatient care is rising

• The sensory room market is forecast to be worth $2.4B+ by 2030

We’ll keep you updated. 

💸 Tracking Opioid Settlement Cash

Lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers and racking up. But where is the cash actually going?

Firms are paying tens of billions of dollars in restitution to settle lawsuits about their roles in the overdose epidemic.

But there’s little oversight on how the money is spent. 

• New cruisers, phone-hacking tools, and bolstering budget shortfalls are just a few of the controversial use cases recorded

KFF Health News is tracking how state and local governments use — or misuse — the cash, and you can follow along here. 

Catch Up Quick

This week’s top headlines

News & Announcements

🏦 Acadia Healthcare will focus on value-based care and invest in associated tech; it’ll also expand service lines and target primary care.  

💻 Magellan Health introduced two new digital cognitive behavioral therapy (DCBT) programs for children and adolescents.

🏥 A Texas hospital announced a $70M behavioral health expansion.

📝 Clinicians at OUD treatment provider Bicycle Health have filed to unionize. 

🎉 THIRA Health launched a new residential treatment program for adults struggling with depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and suicidal behaviors.

🏛️ NorthCare opened a new community outpatient facility in Guthrie, Oklahoma, supported by a four-year federal grant.

🤝 Charlie Health & Memorial Hermann Health System will partner to improve access to comprehensive virtual outpatient treatment programs for Houstonians.

🎯 BetterHelp will maintain its D2C course despite other telemental health giants doubling down on B2B. 

🏗️ Valley Springs Wellness Center announced a $3.5M mental health service expansion.

💸 BetterHelp refunded users $93M in 2023 — possibly highlighting broader issues within the telehealth space. 

⛔ Outpatient provider Lifestance closed 82 clinics last year amid a refocus on profitability after that infamous M&A spree.

📉 Universal Health Services’ behavioral health services for children and teens dropped in the second half of 2023 due to Medicaid redeterminations.

🧒 Autism care is in dire need of unification, and ABA needs wider recognition, analysts say.

💡 Acadia Healthcare is the latest company to bolster inpatient facilities with IOPs and PHPs.

👀 Californian health providers and addiction experts warn that funding for the state’s Behavioral Health Navigator Program is unstable — and causing critical employees to leave their jobs. 

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Delaware First Health has partnered with social platform Pyx Health to address loneliness through…  digital platforms. Hmmm.

🧑‍💼 Hiring news:

• Spring Health named Arielle Mortimer as COO

• Accanto hired Katy Kowalsky as chief people officer

• Quartet Health named Karen Mitchell as chief growth officer

• (Struggling) Greenbrook TMS appointed Andrew Crish as COO

• Henry Ford Behavioral Health Hospital announced Emily Sexton as CEO

Studies & Events

🍷 Alcohol-related deaths have jumped by 29% in the US, CDC data reveal; notably, there’s been a sharper uptick in female alcohol-related deaths (35%) than male (27%).  

💊 OUD treatment retention improves significantly with insurance coverage, per new data.

🏥 Behavioral health crisis systems can reduce costly, avoidable hospital events, a study shows. 

🧑‍💼 The Behavioral Health Tech Conference will take place in Phoenix this year, from November 5-7.

Tech & AI

💰 Alleva & CollaborateMD aim to simplify RCM and streamline billing for behavioral health providers via their new partnership.

🪄 Azalea Health will use AI to transform healthcare workflows. 

😵‍ Hacking at UnitedHealth Unit crippled a chunk of America’s health system; the feds have now been asked to intervene. 

📊 Gray Matter & AllHealth Network will launch analytics solutions to enhance behavioral healthcare providers’s performance.

🤖 How to integrate AI co-pilots in the new era of intelligent healthcare management. 

Funding Rounds & Investor Moves

💲PE-backed Summit BHC acquired Sobriety Centers of New Hampshire — the provider’s first move in the New England market.

🧒 $2.9M for InSite Health to expand their pediatric behavioral health services. 

🤱 $4.3M for FamilyWell to combat the maternal mental health crisis.

💻 $5M for Octave’s behavioral health virtual care platform. 

📝 $3.25M for Upheal, a startup focusing on therapy notes transcription for clinicians.

💰 $660k contract for Syra Health to focus on national healthcare quality improvement.

👀 Investors are bullish on school-based ABA providers. 

🧑‍🎓 On a related note, autism & IDD software giant CentralReach acquired SILAS, a platform that provides social, emotional, and behavioral solutions for students.

One Good Thing

❤️ A Friend’s Death Turned Colorado Teens Into Anti-Overdose Activists

15-year-old Gavinn McKinney died of accidental fentanyl poisoning at a friend’s house in 2021. His memorial service was so packed, people had to stand outside the funeral home.

Now, his friends have helped write a bill to allow students to carry naloxone with them at all times, without fear of discipline or confiscation.

This may seem like a small victory, but it’s part of a much larger movement among young Americans who are demanding change and accountability amid America’s opioid crisis. Full story. 

That’s it for this week,

- Shân

P.S. We’ll be skipping next week’s issue as we’ll all be at VALUE in Miami. Come say hi if you’re around!

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