It’s a 14,000 square foot facility that will have 24 beds available for those experiencing mental health crises. It’s a part of a larger Care Campus project led by Pennington County located in downtown Rapid City.
Those who need this kind of care are sent to the Human Services Center in Yankton.
Sheriff Kevin Thom says the community has worked for a decade to bring more behavioral health services west river.
“As opposed to taking people 350 miles to the Human Services center,” Thom says. “They provide good services there, it’s just a geographic challenge from people that are taken from their support group and taken 350 miles away. It’s been a long time in the coming. It’s an exciting day.”
The Crisis Stabilization Unit is a $6.2 million project. The state is kicking in $4.6 million to the project through the Department of Social Services. The regional facility will allow people suffering from a mental health crisis a stay for up to five days.
That allows the region's only health system to step in with longer-term mental health care.
Paulette Davidson is the CEO of Monument Health. She says the Crisis Stabilization Unit will take some pressure off the hospital.
“Law enforcement, many times, is involved in identifying someone when they’re in a crisis. They’ll be able to bring that person directly here to be evaluated, to get care. Then, if they need more long-term in-patient care, then Monument health can step in and help take care of them.”
Construction for the Crisis Stabilization Unit is expected to start in the coming weeks and be complete by end of next year.
