As director of behavioral health at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, David Johnson has noticed a growing trend: More people struggling with the highs and lows of bipolar disorder; more people weighed down by economic woes, job stress and the resulting depression, anxiety and suicidal feelings; more people seeking escape through alcohol and painkillers; more people needing greater help with every passing day.
By January, hospital officials hope to be meeting those needs in a spacious new $10 million facility — Baptist Behavioral Healthcare, currently under construction beside the main hospital and slated for completion in October.
The 26,100-square-foot facility, which was designed by Earl Swensson and Associates of Nashville, will feature 30 private rooms spanning three wings. Inpatient and court-ordered mental health care will be available, along with outpatient counseling, marital therapy and intensive therapy evaluations.
The facility will continue to offer the same services as Willowbrook and will add a third psychiatrist, Dr. Steven Smith. The Willowbrook facility will likely be torn down, though portions of it may be used for storage.
There will be an increased focus on children and adolescents, as well as the elderly, where there is a growing need for treatment of depression and chemical dependency.
The 40-member staff is currently based in the old Columbus Hospital at Willowbrook Drive, but having the new building on the same property as the main hospital will bring a number of time-saving and cost-saving measures, especially in terms of food services, security and transportation.
“(Willowbrook) is 20-something years old,” said Bill Lancaster, assistant administrator for support services at the hospital. “It was time for an update.”
It will also be more aesthetically pleasing, featuring updated furniture and artwork.
“Oftentimes, people within the community think of a psychiatric hospital as being dull, drab and frightening, with bars everywhere,” Johnson said. “Just the opposite is true. It”s going to be a beautiful facility — nothing like what people who don”t work in this field tend to think of as a psychiatric hospital.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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