(Radio Iowa) – A new mental health facility in western Iowa aims to help address a statewide shortage of mental health services. The 96-bed behavioral health hospital plans to open in mid-June in Council Bluffs. Chief medical officer Monica Arora says the hospital fills an area of need. “We are here, and we care for individuals who need a higher level of support, and patients who may be struggling with mental health conditions,” she says.
Dr. Arora says the hospital will take a holistic approach to psychiatric care with tranquil outdoor spaces and a gym. “That this is going to be a very safe, structured environment for stabilizing them and starting a path of recovery,” Arora says. A proposal to double the number of inpatient psychiatric beds at state mental health institutes stalled in the Iowa Legislature this year and she says there is a critical shortage.
“There are not enough beds in the community, and I believe that leads to a lot of under-treatment of our psychiatric disorders. So, we want to actually eliminate that barrier in accessibility to services,” Arora says. The new hospital is a joint project between Methodist Jennie (Jenny) Edmundson Hospital and Acadia Healthcare. The hospital is continuing to recruit staff members and plans to gradually add 96 patient beds.
The last new major psychiatric hospital in Iowa opened in the Des Moines area five years ago (Clive Behavioral Health in Clive).
