Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle began two construction projects, totaling more than $11 million, including a new behavioral and mental health facility and a parking lot expansion and renovation project.
The parking lot is expected to be completed this fall, as construction begins on the new building, which is expected to open in early 2012.
The new parking lot project will be completed first to ensure adequate parking for employees and the public when construction of the new building begins, said Bill Lancaster, assistant administrator at BMH-GTR, who is in charge of the projects. An existing employee parking lot will be eliminated during building construction.
The Mississippi Department of Health recently approved a certificate of need for the 26,100-square-foot psychiatric and chemical dependency facility, said Lancaster, noting the new building will be connected to the north side of the main hospital building.
The facility will serve patients on both an inpatient and outpatient basis and will include a 14-bed closed unit and two eight-bed open units, he added. Additionally, a wing will be dedicated to senior adults with psychiatric or chemical dependency problems.
“Baptist will continue to provide inpatient psychiatric and chemical dependency services for those 18 years old and older who need psychiatric hospitalization or medical detoxification,” said Mental Health Director David Johnson. “Also available is partial hospitalization, or a step-down program after inpatient hospitalization, where patients stay at the facility during the day to participate in daily group therapies and therapeutic activities, but go home in the afternoon.”
The facility offers outpatient chemical dependency services for adults with chemical dependency problems. Individual, couples and family counseling, group therapy, and medication management are also available, Johnson added.
“We are excited about having this new facility that will enable us to better meet the needs of our patients and staff in an environment-friendly atmosphere that affords safety and security,” said Johnson.
The new facility will replace the aging Willowbrook building, constructed in the 1980s and located on Willowbrook Drive, where the hospital”s behavioral and mental health services currently are housed.
“We remain committed to those in our area with behavioral and mental health problems,” said the hospital administrator and CEO, Paul Cade. “Our new facility will allow us to build on our existing services in a modern facility located closer to our main hospital building.”
The hospital”s ambulance service and outpatient rehabilitation services, which are also housed in the Willowbrook Building, will be relocated to other areas on campus, hospital officials said.
A new parking lot for patients and visitors, including additional handicapped parking, is being constructed along Fifth Street, in front of the main hospital building, while employee parking on the north side of the building is being expanded east to Baptist Boulevard. The existing north employee parking lot will be resurfaced, restriped and improved, including correcting drainage.
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