Health care
BY BEN THOMPSON
Psychiatric care expanding at rebuilt hospital
The Austin State Hospital reopened its doors in May following a $304.6 million makeover and will be providing brain health services to Central Texans across dozens of counties. The big picture The Austin State Hospital is the state’s oldest psychiatric hospital that rst welcomed patients back in 1861. The ASH’s rebuild came together over the past decade after a state-commissioned report found much of Texas’ psychiatric hospital network was “functionally obsolete,” and facing widespread infrastructure and care challenges. Since then, legislative e orts poured about $2.5 billion into the hospitals run by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, including the ASH. Scott Schalchlin, deputy executive commis- sioner for the HHSC’s Health and Specialty Care System, called the continuing statewide hospital initiative a “turning point” for mental health treatment in Texas. “More than ever people understand this is a medical issue, and it can be treated. More people with mental illness are receptive to treatment, and more people understand that state hospitals are the last stop on that continuum, and that people that receive treatment for mental illness at that level that is most appropriate for them,” Schalchlin said.
The new Austin State Hospital has 11 courtyards with a mix of active and sensory features.
BEN THOMPSON COMMUNITY IMPACT
The details The ASH redevelopment broke ground in 2019 as a partnership between the HHSC and Dell Medical School at The University of Texas. The new ASH, situated on about 15 acres of the state’s Triangle health care campus at 4110 Guadalupe St., now contains 240 patient rooms for inpatient psychiatric care. The HHSC expects the new facility will serve nearly 700 people per year. The three-story, nearly 382,000-square-foot ASH is broken up into 10 patient units with shared com- munity spaces. A “downtown” at the center of the ASH o ers a gym, general store, cafe, bank, chapel, greenhouse and gardens, and other common areas for patients to gather and practice life skills needed upon their exit from the hospital. The rst new patients will be moving in during
A closer look
381,687 square feet
$305M redevelopment
672 annual patients served goal
240 rooms
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SOURCE: AUSTIN STATE HOSPITAL COMMUNITY IMPACT
the summer. Patients are admitted to state hospitals through a screening process handled by local mental health authorities; Integral Care is Travis County’s.
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