New $30M Hill Country state psychiatric unit sits empty; no one is willing to work there
The new psychiatric unit at Kerrville State Hospital was completed in September 2022 but has never been occupied as the state struggles to hire staff for it.KERRVILLE – Overlooking the Guadalupe River in this bucolic city northwest of San Antonio, the sleek new facility at the Kerrville State Hospital was designed to offer the latest in modern inpatient psychiatric treatment.
And everyone agrees the backup at the psychiatric hospitals is failing thousands of mentally ill patients, who at best languish in cells while waiting for a treatment bed, and at worst“This has been going on for many years,” Rep. Toni Rose said at a House budget hearing last week. Rose represents Dallas, where the Morning News recently reported a mentally ill patient had been. She said she had tracked the growth of the lengthy waitlist problem since 2001, when she worked at the facility.
Since then, the typical patient seen at Texas state hospitals has changed radically. By the mid-2000s, nearly half of the residents were “forensic” commitments who arrived through the criminal court system. The switch has forced the hospital system to dramatically alter its operations. High-security settings require more employees and money.
The new psychiatric unit at Kerrville State Hospital was completed in September 2022 but has never been occupied as the state struggles to hire staff for it.
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