KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville has a new behavioral health hospital meant to help serve the community and make sure people have access to the help they may need for their mental health.
On Thursday, community leaders and health care professionals gathered off Old Weisgarber Road to unveil the new facility during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It's called the East Tennessee Behavioral Health hospital and is around 72,000 square feet large, according to a release from Covenant Health.
The hospital is part of a partnership between that healthcare system and Acadia Healthcare Inc., in Franklin. Together, they created a three-story building that will house 90 acute care beds. There will also be opportunities to expand the building and create space for an additional 48 beds, officials said.
The hospital has adult and adolescent inpatient programs, meant to help stabilize people if they are experiencing a mental health program. There is also a partial hospitalization program for adults, which will allow patients to leave the facility at night. During the day, patients can expect to take part in treatment for between 6 and 8 hours.
Adults looking for mental health services will also be able to take part in an intensive outpatient program, where they visit the hospital for treatments and therapies before returning home.
According to the hospital's website, they will also be able to help people primarily struggling with opioid use disorder. However, they said they can only help people struggling with addiction to another substance if they have a comorbid diagnosis.
Patients at the East Tennessee Behavioral Health hospital follow a plan that the hospital creates specifically for them. They said that by addressing patients' specific needs, they hope to create lasting healing.
The new facility's address is 1444 Old Weisgarber Road.