Sacramento, California – February 5, 2019 –Sacramento Native American Health Center’s (SNAHC) commitment to providing equitable behavioral health services to the Sacramento community is being further strengthened with the reorganization of the Behavioral Health Department under new leadership.
We are proud to announce that the expanded Behavioral Health Initiatives and Services Department will be led by Vanessa Cuevas-Romero, MSW. At SNAHC, we seek to support the total wellness of our patients by providing collaborative care as a part of an integrated health care environment. As the health center continues to grow, the services that we provide need to evolve to be inclusive of prevention and early intervention, treatment and aftercare, which are the foundation of best practice models in community health.
Vanessa Cuevas-Romero served as the Youth Initiatives Officer and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of SNAHC’s Youth Mental Health Initiatives. Through the use of innovative community-based approaches, she focuses on bringing the Sacramento community together to outline successful mental health interventions for Native children and families. Previously she served as Director of Wellness Programs, Interim Behavioral Health Director, and Development Director at SNAHC. Vanessa has additional professional experience in higher education and legislative affairs. She has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley.
“Vanessa Cuevas-Romero has been with the health center for over five years. Her previous position of Youth Initiatives Officer was developed to oversee two federal youth-focused grant programs that Vanessa co-wrote, developed, and has lead over the past two years. She is passionate about improving the behavioral health delivery system and in this new roll she will have the opportunity to use her expertise beyond prevention into treatment, aftercare, and primary care integration. This new structure will create more opportunities for our patients, the organization and our community. We are focused on increasing our organizational capacity and have chosen a leader with a track record of success to move us in that direction,” said Britta Guerrero, Chief Executive Officer.
Since SNAHC’s inception, the health center has been leading the way in integrating behavioral and primary care services to patients of all ages. Sixty percent of patients were seen in more than one department, and all medical patients are screened for depression and connected with an Intergrated Behavioral Health Provider as needed. Additionally, SNAHC hosts eight prevention and recovery classes per week.
