Westside Family Healthcare

About Westside Family Healthcare

Westside Family Healthcare is a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center based in Wilmington, Delaware, with health centers across New Castle and Kent counties that provide medical, dental, and behavioral health care to everyone, regardless of ability to pay. Started in 1988 as the state’s first nurse-managed community health center, they treat mental and emotional well-being as part of overall health and build behavioral care into regular primary care visits. Their behavioral health team supports people dealing with drug or alcohol problems, as well as depression, anxiety, trauma, and everyday stress. Care is outpatient, offered in person or through telehealth, with fees on a sliding scale and free help enrolling in Medicaid or marketplace insurance.

Counseling is short-term and goal-focused, typically nine to 12 sessions of about 30 minutes each, led by licensed counselors and social workers in English or Spanish for children, adolescents, and adults. Same-day brief assessments and crisis interventions are available, and the team refers patients to more intensive care when their needs call for it. For established patients, psychiatric nurse practitioners handle evaluations, diagnoses, and medication management in coordination with each person’s primary care provider, while social services case managers help with housing, food, transportation, and other pressures that can stand in the way of recovery. They also hand out free Narcan (naloxone) at every location without a prescription or appointment, and they offer interpretation services, including American Sign Language, so patients can get care in the language they’re most comfortable with.