Breaking Barriers: How Fast Pace Health is Revolutionizing Rural Behavioral Healthcare

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Franklin, TN, August 19, 2025 – Fast Pace Health proudly celebrates its Behavioral Health team’s dedication to expanding services, enhancing access, and driving innovative initiatives that advance mental health care across its locations in TN, KY, LA, MS, AL, IN, AR, and NC.

Under the leadership of Robert “Bob” McKenzie, Executive Sponsor of Behavioral Health, and the direction of Nikita Duke, Vice President of Operations – Behavioral Health, team has achieved unprecedented growth, expanding its footprint to more than 300 locations across eight states and expanding its team of behavioral health professionals and staff. Through the adoption and custom design of innovative technology, the team has streamlined workflows to reduce patient, provider and staff burdens, allowing the team to focus more fully on patient care. In collaboration with payors, Fast Pace Health has also broadened insurance acceptance, breaking down barriers and making behavioral health services more accessible than ever before.

Fast Pace Health is committed to focusing on patients’ total wellness and has adopted the United States Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendations for screening patients for anxiety and depression.  Since the screening program’s inception, Fast Pace Health has completed more than 1 million assessments and identified a higher incidence of depression and anxiety in its rural communities than is commonly reported in nationwide data. 

Fast Pace’s Behavioral Health team is committed to growing to help fill the need for care and promoting earlier detection of behavioral health concerns.  So far this year the team has expanded with 9 new Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners and 1 new therapist – 4 more providers expected to join the team by year-end.  Team leads including Jennifer Coffin, PMHNP-BC, Janette Hayes, RN, Misty Cobb-Driskell, MA, Erica Flake, PMHNP-BC, and Trisha Darling, LCSW have been instrumental in equipping providers to deliver comprehensive virtual care to patients in underserved rural communities and by year-end will help lead more than 70 dedicated providers and staff.

Driven by the remarkable efforts and unwavering commitment of every Fast Pace Behavioral Health team member, Fast Pace Health served 25% more behavioral health patients year to date than in the prior year. Looking ahead, the team is energized by the opportunity for continued growth and remains firmly dedicated to delivering accessible, high-quality mental health care.

About Fast Pace Health

Fast Pace Health is a trusted healthcare provider committed to delivering accessible, high-quality medical and behavioral health services across Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Indiana, Arkansas, and North Carolina. Guided by an unwavering focus on patient care, the organization continues to broaden its reach, enhance access to services, and create meaningful, lasting impacts in the lives of individuals and families in underserved communities.