A seven-bed behavioral health ward and expanded respite and residential services are at the center of a plan to beef up mental health care in the Pikes Peak region – all with the goal of keeping many of those patients out of hospital emergency rooms. A consortium involving the Colorado Springs-based AspenPointe outlined its plan Wednesday in a grant application to the Colorado Department of Human Services, which expects to award nearly $20 million in September to transform emergency mental health care across the state. Up to $3.8 million of that total could come to the department’s southeast Colorado region, an area including Colorado Springs and about 20 counties. Much less would likely flow to the Pikes Peak region. Click here to read the full article by Jakob Rodgers, published August 28th, 2013.