PULASKI, Va. – Construction on a new Adult Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit at LewisGale Hospital Pulaski is officially underway.
Hospital leaders broke ground on the new 16 bed, 8,000 square foot facility Wednesday.
The unit will be a combination of new construction and renovation of existing space that will support people experiencing mental health and addiction issues.
Right now, about 70 percent of patients in the New River Valley who need psychiatric care are having to travel outside of the area.
"That takes away from their friends, it takes away from their family, all the support systems that exist and it makes recovery and treatment and the long-term effects of that treatment less effective because of a fragmented system, so we're hopeful that we can make a significant impact in that," LewisGale Hospital Pulaski CEO Sean Pressman said.
The new unit will create 25 new jobs. It's expected to open in August.