Kurtis Young

Background

About Kurtis Young

During my 14 years as a licensed social worker and leader at Parkland Health, Dallas County's safety net hospital, I worked in clinical settings such as the Psychiatric ER and Consult Liaison Team. Later as a leader in the department, we piloted the RIGHT Care Team - a multidisciplinary response team that paired a social worker with a paramedic and police officer to respond to mental health 911 calls. The goal of the program was to better connect citizens in crisis to mental healthcare while diverting them from jails and busy ERs. The RIGHT Care team was awarded the 2019 Innovative Team award at Parkland Safety Week and the model has been studied by municipalities around the country. In 2018 we partnered with the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority to launch an 18-bed Extended Observation Unit within our emergency department. In 2019 we doubled the size our inpatient psychiatric unit from 14 to 28 beds. Our new Addictions service also won best team of the year at Parkland. There were many other projects to improve patient flow and ensure access to inpatient psychiatric beds over the years. Between 2021-2023 we expanded the RIGHT Care team from one team in south central Dallas to 18 teams operating 24/7 throughout the entire city of Dallas. Meanwhile our Community Oriented Primary Care Clinics rapidly expanded adult and pediatric behavioral health services through an integrated care model. As a result, Parkland's ER saw a 2-year decrease in Emergency Detention volume of over 25%. An additional career highlight came in Spring 2023 when I was invited to testify before the Senate Committee for Health & Human Services in support of SB 27 - a priority bill related to mental health spending. I testified on the Senate floor and will always remember this opportunity. On April 12, 2023, my time with Parkland Health ended as I resigned as Operations Administrator for Behavioral Health Services at Parkland. I will always look back at my time at Parkland with gratitude. These were such amazing experiences and while the work was constant and challenging, I learned so much from the people I worked with and for to get these projects off the ground. The employees at Parkland are a hard-working group with a ton of passion for what they do! On May 1, 2023, I started a new path as Vice President of Specialty Healthcare with Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. In this role, I hope to help other organizations implement best-practice mental health programs across the State of Texas and perhaps even the country.