Ross Van Vranken was recently awarded the 2024 Distinguished Service to Healthcare Award by the Utah Hospital Association. The award, presented during the Association’s Fall Leadership Conference at The Homestead Resort and Golf Club, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to improving healthcare in the state of Utah.
Van Vranken is widely recognized as a trailblazer in Utah’s behavioral health community. He has been a leader for more than 33 years on issues related to mental health and substance abuse in our state. Van Vranken recently retired as executive director of the University of Utah’s Huntsman Mental Health Institute, formerly UNI. He has led the University’s behavioral health efforts since 1991.
As executive director of UNI, the University’s Neuropsychiatric Institute, Van Vraken was responsible for the strategic planning, physician recruitment, financial management and overall day-to-day operations of the facility. Additionally, he was responsible for the operations of the 24-bed med/psych unit and emergency department crisis services within University Hospital. Ross oversaw a significant expansion to UNI’s inpatient and outpatient services. The expansion also increased capacity for intensive outpatient, aftercare and substance abuse services, as well as relocating the University of Utah’s Department of Psychiatry to the facility.
Prior to UNI, Ross served three years as Chief Executive Officer of the Western Institute of Neuropsychiatry, a hospital owned and operated by the Psychiatric Institute of America but clinically managed by the University of Utah School of Psychiatry. The Institute was the forerunner to UNI. It was purchased and re-named by the University of Utah in 1994.
Today, the Huntsman Mental Health Institute encompasses patient care, research, education, and community collaboration on a local and national scale. Ross has been instrumental in overseeing the development of many leading-edge programs in behavioral health and substance abuse treatment. During his tenure, the hospital set up 24-hour receiving centers, an asset for stabilizing people in times of crisis. These centers allow patients to avoid the ER and, in some cases, jail.
The 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Line started at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute. The effort consolidated 21 crisis lines into a single, unified number. Today, the line operates nationwide and includes a network of clinicians that can send crisis teams to help people in times of need.
The SafeUT app was established under Ross’ leadership, and today has more than 800,000 users. This app is actively preventing suicide, school attacks, and bullying for Utahns across the board, focusing on the psychological needs of students, frontline workers, and the Utah National Guard.
Ross was also instrumental in the development of the Neurobehavioral HOME Program more than two decades ago. Today, this program is a national model for coordinated medical and mental health care for people with complex developmental disabilities.
Other innovative programs started under Ross’ leadership include a Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment, or CAT Program, serving both youth and young adult patients from around the country. The creation of day treatment programs like the U’s Intensive Outpatient Clinic also provided a complementary way of approaching mental health care.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ross and his colleagues at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute faced new challenges. Demand for care skyrocketed while provider burnout limited the number of available clinicians. The Institute also saw increased patient acuity during the pandemic, and more complex needs. While these challenges are not over, the pandemic served as a springboard for new approaches, including the rise of telehealth. This approach has provided increased access to mental health care in an easier, more accessible setting for patients.
More recently, the Institute has focused its efforts on reducing the stigma of mental health care. In 2022, the hospital launched its Stop Stigma campaign. This long-term effort is focused on normalizing the need for mental health care. Its goal is to break down the barriers that keep people from getting the help they need.
Throughout his career, Ross has taken on a variety of administrative and clinical roles, ranging from working with special needs children, conducting family counseling, victim counseling, depression research, and teaching. Over the years he has served as an adjunct instructor in the U’s graduate school of social work as well as its medical school and college of nursing. Ross holds a BS in psychology and masters of social work from the University of Utah.
Ross is a past chair of the Utah Hospital Association’s Behavioral Health Committee and has been an active member of the group since its inception. He is also a board member of the Utah Addiction Advisory Center. He is a past member of the Governor’s Substance Abuse and Anti-Violence Coordinating Counsel and chaired the Citizen Advisory Board of the Wasatch Youth Center for nine years. He also chaired Utah’s Behavioral Health Crisis Response Commission.
As Ross commented, “I have never been very good at retiring. Plain and simple, it is hard to leave a position when you still love the work, the people, and the mission.”
UHA is grateful for Ross’ lifetime of dedication to improving the lives of people with mental illness in our state.
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