PRICE – Earlier this month, Castleview Hospital celebrated the beginning of construction on its new inpatient behavioral health unit.
Castleview Hospital CEO Mark Holyoak stated how important this behavioral health unit will be not only for Carbon and Emery County residents, but the entire region.
“I am so glad that there is a heightened awareness that mental health is just as significant and prevalent as physical health issues,” he said.
The new unit will be located in the back part of the hospital and will be reconstructed to create a completely safe environment for patients and staff. There will be 14 private inpatient rooms with the capacity to serve up to 500 patients annually.
Construction has already begun and is expected to wrap up at the end of July with the hope that the unit will be ready to serve patients in the first week of August.
“It’s a tight construction schedule, so fingers crossed” said Holyoak.
Four Corners Community Behavioral Health is also working closely with Castleview to help support this new addition. Melissa Huntington, executive director of Four Corners Community Behavioral Health, expressed her appreciation for Castleview and their partnership.
“This wall breaking represents a really important milestone for behavioral health here, especially in our Carbon Emery area,” she said.
Huntington went on to explain how the need for behavioral health services in Utah continues to grow.
“One of the biggest challenges we deal with is the lack of inpatient options close to home,” she said.
Often, there are no beds available for patients, with no estimated time frame of when one will become open which results in caregivers looking out of state to provide care for their loved ones.
“It’s hard on patients, it’s hard on families, and it’s hard on the providers who are trying to help in the moment,” Huntington said.
Castleview’s behavioral health unit will break those barriers, allowing patients to receive quality care close to home.
Castleview Board Chair Joel Hatch-Jensen shared how important it is for the community to have a strong local hospital, especially in a rural area.
“Part of the board’s role is to look ahead and to make sure that we’re moving forward in the ways that make our community better,” she said. “This kind of progress only happens when institutions, community partners and local leaders get together and strive for the same goal. And this project is a good example of that.”
Holyoak thanked the Castleview staff as well as his board members for their hard work and dedication to their patients and the community.
Those in attendance took turns swinging a sledgehammer into a wall, representing the physical reconstruction of the space and the barriers being broken to expand access to mental health care.