AUSTIN (1080 KRLD) - A new state psychiatric hospital is coming to North Texas.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is teaming up with UT Southwestern Medical Center on a new state psychiatric hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
"We're excited to start this adventure with UT Southwestern and this partnership with them, to really bring some necessary services and critical inpatient need or mental health services to the Dallas-Fort Worth area," says Rachel Samsel, associate commissioner for strategic initiatives and policy for the state hospital system at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
Samsel says this is a first-of-its-kind partnership in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
"This partnership really provides us an opportunity to really look at not only a state of the art facility," says Samsel, "but also state of the art care where there are opportunities for research and academics to come together with a state agency focus."
Samsel says the new state psychiatric hospital will fill a critical need for the region.
"We've seen some challenges with inpatient mental health services over the past few years with some loss of capacity from some of the hospitals they're locally closing," says Samsel. "But this is an opportunity for us to take a look at the entire continuum of care for mental health services."
While the legislature approved $45 million for the project, the total price tag and timeline have yet to be determined.
"The funds that were appropriated by the Texas legislature at this past legislative session was to provide funding for planning and design efforts, as well as the purchase of land," Samsel says.
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