The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) and VHHA Foundation hosted its 2025 Virginia Behavioral Health Summit in Richmond on Thursday.
The day-long summit featured keynote addresses, expert panel discussions, and breakout sessions designed to address critical issues in behavioral health.
This year’s event theme, “Community: Building an Accessible System of Care Across the Continuum,” focused on “connecting providers, advocates, and stakeholders around practical strategies that expand access and improve outcomes across Virginia’s behavioral health care delivery system,” VHHA said.
"There is nothing like the sight of a healed human." Powerful words from Tom Farley to close out the 2025 Virginia Behavioral Health Summit. Read more: https://t.co/vuu84RQ0xa Photo gallery: https://t.co/oe4kLg6Jb5 pic.twitter.com/DxYJTiSWIm
— VHHA (@VirginiaHHA) September 25, 2025
Thursday’s event featured in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics, including innovative approaches to improving emergency department access for behavioral health patients; the integration of artificial intelligence in care delivery; advancements in autism services; enhancements to crisis response systems; strategies for workforce engagement; strengthening partnerships between law enforcement and communities; and the expanding role of technology in supporting and streamlining behavioral health care.
Renowned aviator and mental health advocate Ryan Campbell opened the event with remarks on the importance of compassionate behavioral health care while the closing keynote was delivered by Tom Farley, brother of late comedian Chris Farley, who spoke on recovery, advocacy, and the personal impact of behavioral health challenges.
Representatives from leading organizations across Virginia participated in Thursday’s event, including Ballad Health, Bon Secours – Richmond, Carilion Clinic, Centra, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, Inova, Sentara Health, Riverside Health, VCU Health, Valley Health, and the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), and others.
VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton said this year’s Behavioral Health Summit was “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.”
“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,” Connaughton added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “2025 Behavioral Health Summit” by VHHA.
