Mental Health Assessments in Community Health Care: A ReviewNursing assessment of mental illness is a complex task – particularly in community health clinics that serve individuals from minority groups, the indigent and the uninsured. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2007) and the Surgeon General (2001), approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers from mental illness each year (cited in Hunt, 2009). According to Genrich and McGuire (2009), the use of evidence-based mental illness screening has been generally accepted in clinical settings and is modifiable in different primary care settings (as cited in Russell, 2010). However, despite general acceptance of mental health screening in primary care, fewer than 33 percent of primary care providers regularly screen their patients for mental illness (Russell, 2010). Therefore, community health nurses are responsible for assessing patients in various environments and “must accurately assess and identify factors in the psychological, social, and physical environment that may contribute to mental illness” (Hunt, 2009 , p. 424). The project summary is an assessment of the literature on integrating mental health assessment into community health organizations, namely the Florida Atlantic University Community Wellness Center and the Wellness Center West Gate in West Palm Beach. Dr. Eugenia Millender is a psychiatric nurse practitioner there. This center provides primary health care and referrals; however, there is no screening for mental illness. West Gate Wellness Center serves a diverse population consisting of Hispanic, African American, Haitian, and non-Hispanic Caucasian patients. The majority of these patients have no information...... middle of document ...... understand the limitations of communication with nurses and GPs regarding referrals (2010). This review summarizes specific recommendations for use by clinicians in the Westgate Wellness Center. It imparts comprehensive knowledge on the assessment of mental illness in a community setting. Many issues have been identified that apply to the center, such as the difficulty of screening minority groups for mental illness, the need to provide collaborative care to low-income and uninsured immigrants with mental illness, and the under -use of clinical pathways for screening and referral by practitioners for mental illness. Therefore, the dire need for a mental health assessment at Westgate Wellness Center is evident and its absence has proven to be significantly detrimental to minorities, the uninsured, and low-income individuals..