Hospital leaders said the project\u00a0represents\u00a0a major expansion of behavioral healthcare access in the region at a time when demand for services continues to grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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See Member Benefits<\/a>Join Our Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis hospital exists because leaders recognized a need across Central Florida and\u00a0greater Orlando for better access to behavioral healthcare, and they made a commitment to address it,\u201d Acadia Healthcare CEO Debbie Osteen said during the ceremony.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to hospital materials distributed at the event, the facility will offer acute inpatient care, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient\u00a0programs\u00a0and electroconvulsive therapy. The hospital\u00a0also will\u00a0treat patients with co-occurring substance abuse disorders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Edward Smith, CEO of Orlando Health Behavioral Health Hospital, described the project as one of the most significant healthcare investments made in the region\u2019s behavioral health system in decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day, people find themselves in behavioral healthcare settings on the most difficult days of their lives,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey are parents, children, coworkers, neighbors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith said the hospital is designed not only to help patients in crisis, but also to support long-term recovery through a continuum of care that includes inpatient and outpatient treatment options.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis hospital expands how we care for people,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt allows us to build a continuum of care that supports individuals not just in crisis, but long after\u00a0they recover.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr. Matt Angelelli, chair of behavioral health for Orlando Health, said clinicians are seeing a broad range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder,\u00a0schizophrenia\u00a0and bipolar disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s more stress in the world, so people have a harder time coping,\u201d\u00a0Angelelli\u00a0said in an interview following the ceremony. \u201cSo\u00a0we\u2019re seeing more people that need help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Angelelli\u00a0also said healthcare providers continue to see strong demand for youth behavioral health services.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always been busy, but it\u2019s still busy,\u201d Angelelli said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the major challenges behavioral health providers\u00a0face,\u00a0Angelelli\u00a0said, is the shortage of inpatient beds, which often leaves patients waiting in emergency rooms for treatment placement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey sit in emergency departments,\u201d\u00a0Angelelli\u00a0said. \u201cAnd then this is\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0nice about this place\u00a0\u2013\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0big enough that\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0make a dent in it.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0not going to take care of it all, but\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0make a dent in it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Angelelli\u00a0said the new facility differs from many older behavioral health centers because it was purpose-built as a behavioral health hospital rather than retrofitted into an existing building.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of places are built as afterthoughts,\u201d\u00a0Angelelli\u00a0said. \u201cThis was built to be a behavioral health unit from the beginning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He said the design allows safety features to be\u00a0built in\u00a0from the start, rather than added later to an older building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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