At Wednesday鈥檚 ribbon-cutting ceremony for JPS Health Network鈥檚 Psychiatric Emergency Center, District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck asked people to close their eyes and raise their hands if they or someone they know struggled with mental illness.
Almost every single hand in the room went up.
鈥淭hat is how significant the issue here is in our community for mental illness,鈥� Beck said.
The new JPS Psychiatric Emergency Center will push to address this growing need. The facility opens Sept. 17 and will be the first in the county dedicated to psychiatric emergencies. By moving psychiatric emergency services from the 10th floor of the main campus to a free-standing 68,000-square-foot building, medical personnel will be able to better care for patients in crisis.
鈥淲e have created a place where those in crisis will be able to find care, safety, dignity, compassion and, most of all, hope,鈥� said Dr. Karen Duncan, president and CEO of the JPS Health Network. 鈥淭his is more than a new building. It鈥檚 a promise that has been fulfilled.鈥�
The facility, which has care spaces for about 90 people, is built with patients鈥� needs in mind. Instead of the clinical settings of most hospitals and psychiatric facilities, the emergency center uses soft lighting and cool colors to bring peace to those in distress. Laser-printed scenic nature shots on the walls are also meant to ease visitors鈥� stress.
What behavioral health services does the JPS Health Network provide?
- Psychiatric Emergency Center
- Inpatient behavioral health hospital
- Eight outpatient clinics
- Four partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs
Dr. Nekesha Oliphant, the chair of psychiatry and behavioral health, said the teaching facility will serve as an 鈥渆ntry point鈥� for other behavioral services at JPS.
鈥淭his is where the care providers of the future come and learn. How do I provide compassionate care? How do I consider medications? How do I prescribe safely?鈥� Oliphant said.
Several speakers took the stage at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including Tarrant County Judge Tim O鈥橦are. Along with praising the facility, he noted the growing need for mental health services in the county.
鈥淭he crisis that we face in this country of mental health illness is at an unprecedented level,鈥� O鈥橦are said. 鈥淪everal years ago, the people of Tarrant County stepped up and said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to do our part to help.鈥欌��
Suicide rates have increased in the United States over the last two decades, according to the . Recent data also has shown an uptick in suicides in Tarrant County, with a 16% increase from 2018 to 2023.
Zelia Baugh, executive vice president of behavioral health at JPS, said the facility鈥檚 existence will set an example for other counties across the country and show how best to tackle the mental health crisis.
鈥淢ental health is very treatable. People recover every day 鈥� but you have to have an environment that鈥檚 therapeutic and welcoming so that they want to come and ask for help,鈥� Baugh said. 鈥淎nd this place does that.鈥�
Along with improvements for patients come better resources for first responders. The center has a dedicated entrance for paramedics and police officers, which is not often available at psychiatric emergency facilities.
First responders were able to tour the facility after the ribbon cutting. Officers said the facility will help streamline the process of getting care for a patient in distress. They also referred to anti-ligature door handles and the lack of toilet seats as measures they recognized at the center that would keep patients safe.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely looking to divert people away from jail into a place like this,鈥� said Addie Duck, a mental health professional for the Roanoke Police Department.
Construction for the facility in October 2022 as part of the , with the purpose of expanding and modernizing the JPS campus.
The emergency center is the second completed project in the master plan, with JPS鈥檚 Medical Home Southwest Tarrant . The expansion project was initially approved in 2018 when voters approved an .
A new parking garage is the next expansion project and is set to open in spring 2026.
Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org.
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