OREM, Utah — Most people associate urgent care with injuries that need immediate help but fall short of a trip to the emergency room, but what about urgent mental care needs?
An Orem woman decided that this was an unmet health care need she was seeing all too often, which led her to found Bristol Health.
Kelly Wosnik is a nurse practitioner who saw patients come in for a sore throat or other minor illness, but would confess they were also depressed or even suicidal.
Wosnik felt she didn't have the time or resources to address these serious mental health needs, but wanted to help those in crisis.
So she acted on a long-held idea to start the urgent care center for mental health needs only.
Bristol Health has been in operation since 2015, with Wosnik as the only medical provider.
Wosnik now has a team of mental health professionals who have helped over 14,000 in Utah, with the number of patients doubling in the months since late 2020.
She says the clinic strives to eliminate the confusion patients feel when seeking help during a serious mental health crisis, providing help fast, just when they need it.
"Patients don’t have to know what they need. They can come and say, you know, help, I have this addiction, or I have depression," says Wosnik.
Each patient meets with a psychiatric nurse and therapist during their appointment, helping them identify both immediate and long-term needs.
"If they can leave that first appointment with just a little bit of hope, then I’ve done my job," she says.
“We’re just now getting the word out and there is a lot of excitement around it.”
Wosnik says her goal is to have several urgent mental health care centers around the state to meet the growing demand for their services.
