Meet the new director of the Student Medical and Counseling Clinic

Christopher De Villeneuve is the new executive director of the Student Medical and Counseling Clinic at Central Washington University. De Villeneuve, a licensed counselor, crisis worker and administrator by training, began his role in July after 15 years as clinical director for Comprehensive Mental Health in Sunnyside and current hostage negotiator for the Yakima Police Department.

De Villeneuve is interested in integrated healthcare—where primary care and mental health work together. “The Student Medical and Counseling Clinic is unique,” De Villeneuve said. “It’s one of the few truly integrated programs in the state of Washington with medical, counseling and peer nutrition services.”

The clinic is dually accredited by the American Psychological Association and the American Association of Ambulatory Health Care, which speaks to the university’s commitment to quality integrated care, De Villeneuve said.

“My goal for the clinic is to make this a student-centered modified health home,” De Villeneuve said, describing a concept that engages a team of providers, from physicians, nurses and nutritionists to counselors and psychologists, to meet a student’s health care needs. Studies have shown that attention to the whole person and integration of all aspects of health care may improve physical and behavioral health, access to social services and management of chronic conditions, De Villeneuve said. “Under this model the clinic could be the primary setting or a coordinated service with the student’s provider back home,” he said.

At Comprehensive, De Villeneuve worked with the Sunnyside School District on an integrated clinic in the high school; oversaw a HUD housing project; and was responsible for the agency’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which earned him recognition from the governor’s office.

October 24, 2014