August 19, 2026
Susan Davila
Chief Executive Officer Desert View Hospital
When someone has chest pain, breaks a bone or is diagnosed with diabetes, we don’t tell them to figure out healthcare on their own. We connect them with the right provider, the right treatment and the right level of support.
Mental health deserves that same approach.
For many people, however, finding behavioral healthcare can still feel overwhelming. They may not know where to begin, may have difficulty finding an appointment that works with their schedule, or may face transportation challenges. In smaller and rural communities, those barriers can be even more significant. And for some, concerns about stigma can make taking that first step toward care feel even harder.
Too often, people wait until a situation becomes a crisis before they seek help.
At Desert View Hospital, we believe we can do better.
Mental health is healthcare. It is connected to our physical health, our families, our workplaces and our ability to participate fully in our communities. That means behavioral healthcare should be accessible, coordinated and designed around the needs of the person seeking it, not the other way around.
Care also doesn’t look the same for everyone. For one person, support may begin with virtual therapy that makes it easier to fit an appointment into a busy day. Another person may need outpatient treatment, more intensive services or inpatient care. Someone else may need continued support as they return home and resume their daily routines.
The important thing is that people have somewhere to turn at each step.
As an affiliate of The Valley Health System, Desert View Hospital is connected to a broader network of inpatient and outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment for adolescents, adults and older adults through Spring Mountain Treatment Center and Spring Mountain Sahara.
Now, in addition to these existing resources, Desert View Hospital is also affiliated with
Talkspace, expanding the ways people can connect with mental health support. Through Talkspace, patients have another option for accessing virtual therapy and psychiatry with licensed mental health professionals.
Talkspace’s nationwide network of approximately 6,000 licensed providers currently serves more than 200 million people through health plans, employers, schools, government organizations and employee assistance programs, delivering more than 1.6 million therapy and psychiatry sessions in 2025 alone. Those numbers reflect more than growth – they reflect the growing demand for flexible, accessible behavioral healthcare that fits into people’s lives.
For a community like Pahrump, expanding access matters. Geography can influence healthcare in very real ways. A long drive, limited transportation, work schedules, childcare responsibilities or simply the difficulty of getting away during the day can become barriers to seeking care. Virtual services can help remove some of those obstacles and make it possible for people to connect with support from where they are.
Our community is growing, and with that growth comes an opportunity to think differently about how we support mental wellness. We need to make it easier for people to ask for help with anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, stress and other challenges before those concerns become overwhelming.
That requires all of us.
Hospitals and healthcare providers have an important role, but we cannot do this work alone. Employers, schools, families, community organizations, behavioral health professionals and local leaders all have a part to play in creating a community where seeking mental health support is viewed as a sign of strength, not something to be ashamed of.
We also need to recognize that mental wellness isn’t something we should address only when someone is in crisis. Just as we encourage people to take steps to protect their physical health before they become seriously ill, we should encourage people to pay attention to their mental and emotional well-being throughout their lives.
The goal isn’t simply to give people another place to receive care. It’s to make the journey to better mental health easier to navigate. Mental healthcare should be easier to access, easier to understand and, whenever possible, closer to home.
That’s the kind of future we want to help build for Pahrump, Nye County and the communities we serve.
