PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -Emerald Coast Behavioral Hospital is celebrating 40 years of serving the community. Friday, they celebrated that achievement with a barbecue.

Although it has had other names in the past, Emerald Coast Behavioral Hospital provides psychiatric care.

The hospital is an 86-bed facility with child and adolescent, adult, and military programs.

The hospital’s CEO shares that it’s important to celebrate achievements like this because it hasn’t been easy.

“Psychiatric care has changed a lot in 40 years. The nice thing is now medicines work a lot better than they used to, and there are a lot more choices for everybody,” said Tim Bedford, the CEO of Emerald Coast Behavioral Hospital. “It’s been a challenge; there’s a lot more substance use disorder, especially in our community, and also behavioral health. So we’re filling a need, and we really appreciate the community and our partners because it really takes all of us to do that.”

Bedford thanked his dedicated staff, sharing that for him, it’s about serving the community.

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