Building Process Initiated for Sheridan Memorial Hospital's Behavioral Health and Crisis Stabilization Facility
The Sheridan Memorial Hospital in Wyoming is making a significant investment to enhance mental health care services for individuals in the region. The hospital is constructing a new Behavioral Health and Crisis Stabilization Unit, a $8.1 million facility aimed at addressing the lack of mental health care services in the state.
Wyoming ranks poorly in the USA in terms of the number of psychiatrists, with Idaho being the worst. This has led to a high rate of adults with mild or moderate mental illness not receiving treatment. The new unit is a response to this issue, designed to provide urgent care and outpatient services for mental health, and offering a more comfortable and appropriate setting compared to the emergency department.
The hospital's CEO, Mike McCafferty, emphasizes the importance of addressing patients' needs in a way that is tailored to their specific circumstances. The new unit will feature a "front door" that includes urgent care and outpatient mental health services, along with a dedicated crisis area for those in immediate need.
The new unit is part of an effort to increase community education about mental health. It is also an extension of the hospital's focus on providing mental health care services outside its emergency department. The hospital plans to recruit and hire specialized psychiatric care staff as part of the new unit's development.
Construction on the hospital's new Behavioral Health and Crisis Stabilization Unit is underway, and it is expected to begin serving patients in either late 2026 or early 2027. This new facility is a significant step towards improving mental health care services in Wyoming, reducing the need for patients to leave the community for psychiatric care.
[1] Project Overview, Sheridan Memorial Hospital, March 2024.
The new Behavioral Health and Crisis Stabilization Unit at Sheridan Memorial Hospital is an investment in science and health-and-wellness, specifically targeting the mental health sector of the region. The facility, expected to start serving patients in late 2026 or early 2027, will offer therapies-and-treatments for mental health concerns, addressing the shortage of such services in Wyoming.
