(The Center Square) — Dr. Jeremiah Smith, the director of administrative services at Brentwood Hospital in Shreveport, shared his excitement for a planned Behavioral Health Crisis Center project with the Caddo Parish Commission.
In Tuesday’s work session, Smith spoke before the commission to elaborate on the plans for the upcoming facility where 60 jobs will be created and crisis individuals will receive specialized help.
The crisis center would give emergency centers in the area the ability to adjust how they handle those suffering from mental health crises. These residents in need of care will be able to go straight to the psychiatric emergency center instead of sitting in an ER for hours at a time.
“You may have a 2-year-old with a fever and someone that’s having a crisis scare sitting right next to them waiting for hours to be seen,” Smith noted to the commission.
The facility will be for the entire Region 7 of Louisiana. Patients can stay for up to 24 hours and potentially up to 72 hours for specific incidents.
There is a similar place located in Baton Rouge called The Bridge Center For Hope. Brentwood Hospital has been working closely with The Bridge Center for Hope, so their structure is relatively similar. The crisis center will be able to take voluntary and involuntary patients. Police officers will have the ability to bring patients in who are having crisis scares and need psychiatric treatment.
“I am definitely in support of this,” said Commission President Stormy Gage-Watts. “Mental health is an illness just like any other illness that is very sensitive and dear to my heart, and I’m sure that the community will appreciate somewhere that is specifically designed to help in this area.”
According to Smith, the project will cost $5.1 million. They’re partnering with the Louisiana Health Department, and their stakeholders are excited as they take on the challenge.
A few questions were raised in response to the project, including concern about capacity, for example, overnight stays, and how the crisis center will assist hospitals in the surrounding area with daily operations.
The new facility is said to be a recliner setting that will be able to keep patients for 24 hours with 24 recliners, while the crisis stabilization unit will have 12 beds for starting capacity. The design will be built with expansion in mind. The facility will also be able to house people experiencing psychiatric problems due to drugs for up to 72 hours.
“Right now … ERs are full, and a lot of it is from individuals who need that crisis care, the psychiatric emergency care, so with this, it will help them,” said Smith.
The commission voted to advance the introduction of Ordinance 6517 with 11 in support, none in opposition and one absent.
The commission’s next public hearing is set for Feb. 20.
Emilee Ruth Calametti serves as staff reporter for The Center Square covering the Northwestern Louisiana region. She holds her M.A. in English from Georgia State University and soon, an additional M.A. in Journalism from New York University. Emilee has bylines in DIG Magazine, Houstonia Magazine, Bookstr, inRegister, The Click News, and the Virginia Woolf Miscellany. She is a Louisiana native with over seven years of journalism experience.
