THE LAGGING STATE OF MENTAL-HEALTH CARE: Colorado's lofty ranking for health doesn't extend to behavioral wellness, but some initiatives offer hope for improvement.

• Author: Siebrase, Jamie
• Position: HEALTH CARE REPORT

Annette and Paul's daughter ran a thriving business and owned real estate in their hometown of Pueblo. Then she turned 33, and things changed dramatically.

"She talked about being a spirit medium," Annette says. Paranoia began. Mysterious entities stole clothes, moved belongings and spoke to Annette's daughter through earbuds.

"We knew something was wrong, but we felt like deer in the headlights," Paul says. He couldn't reason with his daughter, and since she was an adult, he couldn't force her to get help.

The couple, who asked that their middle names be used to protect their family's privacy, called the police after they got a concerning call about their daughter one night. The local sheriff placed her on a 72-hour hold at a local hospital. A month later, she was involuntarily admitted to the Colorado Mental Health Institute Pueblo (CMHIP), a 449-bed psychiatric hospital providing inpatient behavioral health services.

CMHIP and Colorado Mental Health Institute Fort Logan are Colorado's only two state-run psychiatric hospitals.

At CMHIP, the couple's daughter was for her to get the help she needed, she'd have to commit a felony and be placed in a hospital for the criminally insane," Paul says.

That's exactly what happened four months ago, when his daughter shot at a man during a psychotic episode. She's currently being detained while awaiting sentencing.

Getting mental health care shouldn't be this difficult.

One in five diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She was given medication, and her symptoms began to improve.

"This is where you'd think the story gets better, but unfortunately, it gets worse," Paul says. His daughter was released from CMHIP with a prescription she never filled.

For the next few years, she bounced in and out of CMHIP, which is also a forensic hospital providing long-term services for individuals with pending criminal charges and those found not guilty by reason of insanity.

"We were told by professionals that Americans--more than 40 million people--has a mental health condition. The most common mental illnesses are depression and anxiety, but one in 17 Americans will suffer from a more serious disease: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or extreme paranoia.

Physically speaking, Colorado consistently ranks among the nation's healthiest states, with 86.6 percent of Coloradans reporting excellent, very good or good health according to findings from the 2017 Colorado Health Access Survey, released in September by the National...