UnityPoint Health-Eyerly Ball is working on a $10.4 million project to centralize Des Moines' mental and behavioral health services on one campus.
Regional mental health provider officials said Monday the multimillion-person effort will help them streamline existing services and expand care to areas where it's most needed. In doing so, officials hope to meet the growing need for services in central Iowa.
“The need for services continues to grow,” said CEO Cynthia Steidl Bishop. “Of course, this cannot fully meet that need. We need all the services that currently exist in our community.” Told. This building and expansion will allow us to meet that need. ”
As part of the project, Iryball will construct a two-story, 15,000-square-foot community mental health facility on Pennsylvania Avenue, scheduled to open in early 2025. Officials have not said when construction will begin.
The new mental health clinic will replace Iry Ball's two Des Moines facilities at Center Street and 19th Street. The Center Street store will serve as an administrative building, and the 19th Street store will likely be sold, Steidl-Bishop said.
Part of the project will also be used to renovate two floors of Penn Medical Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, next to the site where the new clinic will be built. The space will not be used for patient care, but will serve as offices for care coordination staff who see patients in the community.
Steidl-Bishop said $4.4 million of the total cost will be covered by grants Eyrieball receives from local and state authorities. This includes his $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act from the Polk County Board of Supervisors and his $2.4 million from state infrastructure grants.
Steidl-Bishop said officials will also begin a capital effort to raise $500,000 to help pay for building construction and renovations for the new space in Penn Medical Plaza.
“Having both organizations really recognize the importance of[behavioral health services]and give us funding was really the game changer in making this project happen,” she said. .
Eyerly Ball expands drug use services for children
The new mental health care facility will house all of Iry Ball's customer services, including outpatient programs and a peer drop-in center. Additionally, officials plan to open a pharmacy in the building, marking the first time a mental health provider has an on-site pharmacy, Steidl-Bishop said.
The move will also allow Iryball to hire more mental health professionals and expand the region's highest-need services, including mental and behavioral health care services for children. Officials also plan to spend on drug use-related services and provide medication-assisted treatment services to those patients.
The facility will be built across the street from Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, and the new clinic will be close to the emergency department, the hospital's inpatient mental health services, and outpatient programs such as the Powell Chemical Dependency Center. This clinic will also be near UnityPoint Clinic Behavioral Health Urgent Care.
Steidl Bishop said the new building's location is intentional and will allow clients easier access to all UnityPoint Health behavioral health services by centralizing these services on one campus.
“It’s a great opportunity for our clients and the community to have all the behavioral health services they need in one place,” she said.
Growing as demand for mental health grows across the state
The move comes as mental health providers in Iowa and across the country have seen a surge in demand for their services in recent years. In some cases, the demand exceeds the ability of some healthcare providers to meet patient needs.
Advocacy group NAMI Iowa said historically about 600,000 Iowans, or about 1 in 5 people, are affected by a mental health condition each year. But with the arrival of the pandemic in 2020, that estimate is “now closer to a quarter.” the official said.
Iowa critically lacks the medical services to address this need, with 89 of Iowa's 99 counties ranked by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration as having a mental health professional shortage. . According to a report from Nami Iowa. As of 2020, there were fewer than 100 psychiatrists accepting patients in Iowa, including 31 child psychiatrists.
“Iowa also lacks the community-based clinical and comprehensive social services that people with severe and chronic mental illness need to live in recovery, such as transportation and housing assistance.” says the NAMI Iowa report.
Nationally, it is estimated that one in five adults in the United States experiences some form of mental illness each year, and one in 20 adults experiences a serious mental illness. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Furthermore, it is estimated that one in six children aged 6 to 17 nationwide experiences a mental health disorder each year.
Resources available to those in need
If you are in crisis, free help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Individuals can connect with a counselor at any time by calling 988 or sending a text message.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can help you get the help your loved one needs.
Michaela Lamb is a medical officer at the Des Moines Register. You can contact her at: [email protected](319) 339-7354 or on Twitter @Michaela_Ramm
