Pasco County government officials, along with representatives from BayCare Behavioral Health, recently accepted the prestigious Audrey Nelson Community Development Award honoring outstanding achievement in serving low-income residents through innovative use of Community Development Block Grant funding. The national award, presented during a Feb. 6 ceremony in Washington, D.C, was in recognition of Pasco County’s support of BayCare’s innovative Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center, the first-of-its-kind in the state of Florida.
Since opening in February 2025, the center has provided a voluntary, timely entry point to mental health and substance use care, helping divert patients from more intensive crisis services and interventions. To date, the center has served more than 1,600 patients, far exceeding the expectation of 400 patients in its first year. A notable 98% of those patients received care without the need for hospitalization.
“The urgent care center is a great example of what communities can achieve when they work together,” said Tracey Kaly, director of clinical operations for BayCare Behavioral Health. “It would not have been possible without Pasco County’s support. To receive national recognition for our shared vision of making behavioral health care more accessible to vulnerable communities is really a great honor.”
Pasco County’s $1.4 million grant in support of the project made BayCare the largest recipient of the county’s opioid settlement funds. The county has also partnered with BayCare on other behavioral health initiatives including its recent launch of harm-reduction vending machines and a new Central Receiving Facility scheduled to open by the end of 2026.
As the largest provider of behavioral health services in West Central Florida, BayCare’s investment in Pasco County demonstrates a coordinated effort among BayCare’s Behavioral Health, Community Benefit and Government Relations teams to work with local partners to provide high-quality health care tailored to the needs of the communities it serves. As evidenced by the success of the behavioral health urgent care center, this collaborative approach to delivering care where it is needed most, is making a substantive impact in Pasco County, whose residents have consistently identified increased access to behavioral health care as a top priority. A second BayCare Behavioral Health Urgent Care center serving East Pasco residents is scheduled to open in Dade City, Florida, this April.
Learn more: BayCare Behavioral Health
