VHHA Hosts 2025 Virginia Behavioral Health Summit on Strengthening Access to Care

VHHA Hosts 2025 Virginia Behavioral Health Summit on Strengthening Access to Care

September 25, 2025

The Seventh Annual Virginia Behavioral Health Summit Spotlights Innovative Access Models, Crisis Service Expansion, and Practical Tools for Patient Care

RICHMOND, VA - Today, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) and the VHHA Foundation are hosting the 2025 Virginia Behavioral Health Summit as an in-person event at The Westin - Richmond. "Community: Building an Accessible System of Care Across the Continuum" is the theme for this year's event, which is focused on connecting providers, advocates, and stakeholders around practical strategies that expand access and improve outcomes across Virginia's behavioral health care delivery system.

The 2025 Summit features a robust lineup of speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions including keynote remarks on the topic of compassionate behavioral health from renowned aviator and explorer Ryan Campbell, as well as a closing keynote address from Tom Farley on recovery and advocacy inspired by the legacy of his departed brother, actor and comedian Chris Farley.

Additional Summit content is focused on emergency department innovations in behavioral health access, the role of AI in enhancing care, crisis services, autism care, primary care integration, employee engagement, law enforcement and community relationships, the expansion of Virginia's crisis care system, and advances in technology to help strengthen behavioral health resources.

Representatives from Ballad Health, Bon Secours - Richmond, Carilion Clinic, Centra, Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, the Hampton (VA) Police Department, HopeLink Behavioral Health, Inova, Riverside Health, Sentara Health, Valley Health, VCU Health, VHC Health, Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), VHHA, and the Virginia Treatment Center for Children are among the Summit's featured participants. View the Summit program brochure with speaker bios and sponsor information here.

"As the demand for behavioral health services grow, hospitals across Virginia are investing in enhancing treatment capacity and working with public and private sector partners to develop new strategies to meet community treatment needs," said VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. "The 2025 Virginia Behavioral Health Summit is an opportunity for clinicians, hospital leaders, community partners, and policymakers to renew our sense of purpose and convene as part of the ongoing work to strengthen the continuum of care."

The 2025 Virginia Behavioral Health Summit is being held at a time when demand for behavioral health services is rising across inpatient and outpatient settings. That necessitates new strategies to enhance treatment capacity and workforce development efforts to meet the needs of patients in communities across Virginia. Private hospitals across the Commonwealth have added hundreds of adult and pediatric psychiatric beds in recent years. Each year, those hospitals handle tens of thousands of voluntary and involuntary psychiatric inpatient admissions. In 2024, data shows that Virginia's private hospitals accommodated nearly 58,300 (91.65 percent) of the approximately 63,600 total behavioral health inpatient admissions across private and state psychiatric hospitals. Recent VHHA data analyses showing a significant five-year (2020-2024) increase in hospital admissions involving patients with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and autism spectrum disorder diagnoses further underscores the importance of bringing providers and stakeholders together at events like the Virginia Behavioral Health Summit to foster collaboration around tactics and strategies to enhance care.

VHHA and the VHHA Foundation extend their gratitude to Summit speakers and attendees for their participation and to the following sponsors whose support helps make this year's event possible:

• Elite Industry Partner: Qualivis;
• Title Sponsor: Dominion Energy;
• Exhibiting Sponsors: Augusta Health, Ballad Health, Bon Secours, Carilion Clinic, Centra, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, HCA Virginia, Inova, Iris Telehealth, Mary Washington Healthcare, Riverside Health, Sentara Health, The Pavilion, TSW, Valley Health System, VHC Health, and VHHA Solutions; and
• Supporting Sponsors: Backpack Healthcare, Sovah Health, and Williams Mullen.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 116 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Its vision is through collaboration with members and stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of Virginia's health care system, transform the delivery of care to promote lower costs and high value across the continuum of care, and to improve health for all Virginians. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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Contact:

Julian WalkerVice President of Communications(804) 297-3193 office(804) 304-7402 [email protected]