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State Senator Pushes For More Mental Health Call Centers

DENVER (CBS4) - A state senator who is also the only practicing physician in the Colorado Legislature joined a forum on Sunday in Denver to discuss improvements that could be made to mental health care in Colorado.

State Sen. Irene Aguilar is pushing for a bill during this Legislative session that would create more call centers to respond to people during an emotional crises.

Outside the forum at Temple Emanuel in Denver on Sunday Aguilar told CBS4 she thinks her bill could possibly prevent future mass shootings like the one in Newtown, Conn., last year.

"First of all safety and prevention is the No. 1 thing," Aguilar said.

In reference to Newtown shooter Adam Lanza, Aguilar said "had he been in treatment with someone, I do think there would have been a better chance that someone would have recognized that there were some risks there."

When the Legislature is not in session, Aguilar sees patients at the Denver Health Medical Center's Sam Sandos Westside Family Health Center on Federal Boulevard.

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