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Dr. Christine Cauffield named co-chair of Florida agency devoted to improving Mental Health services for Seniors

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Christine Cauffield, president of Aspire Behavioral Health, Inc., has been named Co-Chair of The Florida Coalition for Optimal Mental Health & Aging (FCOMHA), a volunteer organization that works to improve the availability, effectiveness and quality of mental health services for Florida's older citizens.

"It's an honor to be selected to lead FCOMHA with my co-chair, Stephen Ferrante. Much needs to be done to provide mental health services to our underserved senior population, and it needs to be done soon," Dr. Cauffield said.

"Having someone of your experience and leadership as co-chairs represents another milestone for the Coalition," said Dr. Larry Schonfeld, a professor and chair of the Department of Aging & Mental Health at the University of South Florida.

Seniors have high rates of depression and anxiety and the highest rates of suicide of all age groups. Seniors and their families have an urgent need for high-quality mental health and substance abuse services, she noted.

Dr. Cauffield is a psychologist and entrepreneur who resides in Winder Park. She was CEO of Coastal Behavioral Health Care in Sarasota for a number of years, and was responsible for the overall administration and fiscal management of a $21 million budget for 58 programs in 23 locations.

Governor Bush named her as a delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging and was also appointed to the Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation, a non-profit corporation created by the Florida legislature to oversee the state's publicly funded substance abuse and mental health services.

Dr. Cauffield and others recently founded Aspire Behavioral Health, Inc., which will develop inpatient, acute care geropsychiatry specialty hospitals. The first such hospital opens in Denver in April. Ten hospitals are planned for Florida.

Stephen Ferrante of Ft. Lauderdale is Executive Director of Broward County Elderly and Veteran's Services.

ABOUT FCOMHA: The Florida Coalition for Optimal Mental Health and Aging was established in 1998 in response to concerns about the adequacy of current mental health policy and services for older adults. It is a broad-based state coalition of approximately 200 members.

ABOUT ASPIRE: Aspire Behavioral Health, Inc., is a Denver-based company that plans some 40 hospitals nationally to offer acute geropsychiatry services.