Florida lawmakers Wednesday gave final approval Wednesday to a proposal to designate behavioral health teaching hospitals, as the state looks to bolster mental health and substance abuse treatment.
The bill (SB 330), which passed the Senate and House unanimously, would designate four behavioral health teaching hospitals linked to universities.
They would be Tampa General Hospital and the University of South Florida; UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville and the University of Florida; UF Health Jacksonville and the University of Florida; and Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and the University of Miami.
It also would allow the state Agency for Health Care Administration to designate additional behavioral health teaching hospitals as of July 1, 2025.
The bill would provide $100 million a year over the next three years to the teaching hospitals, with additional money provided for such things as residency positions for psychiatrists.
The bill would require the teaching hospitals to take steps such as working with the universities on programs for students in colleges of medicine, nursing, psychology, social work and public health “related to the entire continuum of behavioral health care, including, at a minimum, screening, therapeutic and supportive services, community outpatient care, crisis stabilization, short-term residential treatment and long-term care.”
