Behavioral healthcare providers and systems are increasingly turning to partnerships with the goal of expanding access to mental health and substance use disorder services amid rising demand and workforce shortages.
Here are seven to know:
1. Ochsner and Oceans Healthcare launch Acadiana network
Ochsner Lafayette (La.) General and Plano, Texas-based Oceans Healthcare officially launched Ochsner Behavioral Health Acadiana, a regional behavioral health network that welcomed its first patients July 8, 2026. The joint venture pairs a newly built hospital in Lafayette with the former Oceans Behavioral Hospital Broussard, now renamed Ochsner Behavioral Health Acadiana-Broussard, giving the partners 100 inpatient beds across two campuses under a single license — more than double the 38 beds they previously operated in the region. The network also adds adolescent and younger adult services that had been a gap in the area.
2. Novant Health and Amae Health partner in Charlotte
Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health and Los Angeles-based Amae Health are collaborating to expand outpatient care for severe mental illness in Charlotte, N.C. The partnership brings Amae’s outpatient model — which integrates psychiatry, therapy and primary care — into Novant’s market to broaden access for patients with conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
3. Baylor Scott & White transitions its Geode Health joint venture
Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health is transitioning outpatient behavioral health operations to Chicago-based Geode Health, its longtime joint-venture partner, with the move set to be completed by Oct. 26, 2026. Since launching the partnership, the two organizations expanded from 13 to 26 Texas locations, including eight in Greater Austin, and more than doubled the number of physicians and behavioral health support staff serving patients. Baylor Scott & White said the change reflects an expansion of behavioral health access, and that 78% of patients have shown meaningful improvement within five months of care.
4. Amae Health and Google Health Enterprise team up on precision psychiatry
Amae Health is collaborating with Google Health Enterprise to bring wearable-derived data — including sleep patterns, physical activity and heart rate variability — into its precision psychiatry model. The goal is to help clinicians detect early changes in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. The initiative builds on Amae’s existing clinical partnerships with Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Mass General Brigham in Boston and New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian.
5. Better Life Partners joins the Groups care network
Hanover, N.H.-based Better Life Partners joined the Burlington, Mass.-based Groups care network, combining Better Life’s community-based care model with Groups’ clinical resources to expand addiction treatment access across New England. The partnership broadens access to same- or next-day medication for opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder treatment, group therapy and virtual clinical support between appointments.
6. Clara Barton Medical Center partners with Senior Life Solutions
Hoisington, Kan.-based Clara Barton Medical Center partnered with Senior Life Solutions, which is operated by Brentwood, Tenn.-based Psychiatric Medical Care, to offer outpatient behavioral health services for adults 65 and older in central Kansas. The program serves older adults experiencing depression, anxiety and grief through group therapy, one-on-one counseling and medication management, with participants able to attend sessions up to three times a week while living independently.
7. Centra and Lifepoint Health open Virginia behavioral hospital
Lynchburg, Va.-based Centra and Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health, through its Lifepoint Behavioral Health and Lifepoint Rehabilitation affiliates, opened the Centra Behavioral Health Hospital at the Centra Simons Run Medical Campus in Lynchburg. The 60,000-square-foot, 72-bed facility adds dedicated behavioral health capacity to the region through the health system-operator partnership model that has become increasingly common in the sector.
At the Becker's Fall Behavioral Health Summit, taking place November 4–5 in Chicago, behavioral health leaders and executives will explore strategies for expanding access to care, integrating services, addressing workforce challenges and leveraging innovation to improve outcomes across the behavioral health continuum. Apply for complimentary registration now.
