A safe space in a crisis. Inside Tampa General's new behavioral health hospital

Yahoo

26-02-2025

Editor's note: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, help is available. You can call or text 988 to be connected to the suicide & crisis helpline. Additional resources are listed at the bottom of this story.
TAMPA — One-third of Florida adults reported symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorder in 2023, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data.
The state's suicide rate has increased by 6% over the past two decades, according to federal data, and roughly 112,000 Floridians underwent involuntary mental health examinations in the 2022 fiscal year after being reported as a danger to themselves or others.
Yet, Florida was ranked 49th in the country for access to mental health care, according to the 2022 State of Mental Health in America report.
It's a gap that led state lawmakers last year to set aside $300 million over a three-year period to pay for psychiatric residencies and workforce development programs at four new state-funded behavioral health teaching programs.
The first of the four, the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, officially opened Tuesday in downtown Tampa.
The new 96-bed hospital on W. Kennedy Boulevard will treat patients with severe mental health issues such as bi-polar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder. It will be run as a partnership with USF Health Morsani College of Medicine providing psychiatrists, nurses and therapists. Lifepoint Behavioral Health, a for-profit company that operates 20 similar hospitals across the nation, will provide oversight of the hospital's operations.
The majority of those treated will likely be people admitted under the Baker Act, a Florida law used to involuntarily commit people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
'(This) hospital will transform the landscape of behavioral health services in Florida, ensuring that individuals and families receive the support they need for mental wellness and recovery,' said Doug Leonardo, CEO of the new hospital.
The hospital is specifically designed for the treatment of mental health issues. In addition to rooms for group therapy, it has two interior courtyards, one fitted with a basketball hoop, where patients can get fresh air and exercise.
Each of the patient rooms on the second and third floor have two beds so patients are rarely alone.
The fixtures inside the room are designed to prevent self-harm, especially the risk of suicide through strangulation. Door hinges and handles have no flat edge that a sheet could be hung from. The towel hooks are made of rubber and would not support a person's weight. Window blinds are mounted between the two panes of double-glazed windows. There are few sharp edges.
'If you do this long enough, you learn to plan for every situation,' Leonardo said.
New patients will typically go through an evaluation process with average stays expected to be around seven days. The hospital will provide personalized 24-hour care that includes management of medication and group and individual therapy. Tampa General plans to add out-patient treatment options in the next few months.
The hospital will also play an important part in providing hands-on training for medical students and residents from USF Health's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences. Florida needs 587 more psychiatrists to meet the demand for treatment, according to a state analysis.
'This is going to help us fill a gap in this community and in this state from a behavioral health workforce perspective,' Leonardo said.
In addition to providing medical staffers, USF will also host the newly established Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce, which is tasked with monitoring recruitment and retention trends and to highlight where behavioral health professionals are most needed across the state.
At the hospital's opening ceremony Tuesday, Tampa General CEO John Couris said the project had special meaning for him since his mother, suffered mental health issues and eventually became dependent on prescription drug narcotics.
She was undiagnosed for many years and, after diagnosis, she went untreated for her entire life, Couris said. He said the new hospital would be a beacon of hope for patients and their families.
'This building and the programs and services that are going to be in this building are designed for the most vulnerable in our population, not only to treat them, but to build resiliency in them,' he said, 'so they can go back into their communities and live a healthy and happy life.'
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or in a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or chat with someone online at 988lifeline.org. The service includes specific help for veterans. You can also dial 211 to reach area nonprofits for information about and referrals to human service organizations.