The beginning of the formulation of the concept of Blue Mountain Health Cooperative occurred in January 2020 by Alayna Brinton, LICSW of Anchor Point Counseling PLLC. It was apparent to her that the need for mental health services was ever increasing but it seemed that ability to coordinate care between providers and move people into services quickly was becoming harder and harder. 

Alayna reached out to Melissa Adams, LSWAIC, the Providence St. Mary's population health social worker to discuss her pipe dream of establishing better coordination of care among Walla Walla providers, creating integrated care systems, and creating a support network for both the provider community and behavioral health clients. Melissa quickly breathed life into this idea- taking Alayna's initial idea and building it into something possible by devising tangible placement options and evidence based systems for implementation. Deisy Haid, LCSW from the Walla Walla University School of Social Work was next to join the team, adding to the dream by bringing her wealth of knowledge as well as the resources of the students of Walla Walla University.