Gent L. Daniels III is director of School Based Health Centers (Behavioral Health) at Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, where he oversees behavioral health services across multiple school-based health centers and leads clinical and operational initiatives that expand access to care for children, adolescents and families. He also maintains a private behavioral health practice.
What makes you a Healthcare Hero?
Over the past year, I have led efforts to increase behavioral health service volume across our school-based health centers, expanding access to care for more students and families.
Through strong clinical oversight, staff development and operational improvements, I helped our team provide more counseling sessions while maintaining high-quality care. I have also worked to reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health services by integrating behavioral health supports into the school environment, making care more accessible, visible and responsive to student needs.
Tell us about a challenge in your job that you were able to overcome.
As our behavioral health program expanded across multiple school districts, each with its own needs, culture and community dynamics, one challenge was creating consistency across sites while still remaining responsive to each school community. Through strong clinical oversight, staff support and standardized practices, I helped build a more unified model of care that enabled staff to work at a high level, improved access and helped reduce stigma around behavioral health services.
What’s your next major goal and/or challenge?
My next goal is to expand behavioral health services into new schools and districts in a thoughtful, sustainable way. As we grow, my challenge will be maintaining high-quality, evidence-based care, strong clinical oversight and consistent outcomes so more students and families can access the support they need.
