Dayton Children’s $108 million behavioral health center for youth will open this summer after several years of planning and two years of construction.
Legislators and local leaders from school districts and social service agencies toured Monday the Mathile Center for Mental Health and Wellness.
It includes three floors, with a square footage of 111,000 feet. It has in-patient treatment rooms, family crisis and assessment areas, day treatment programs and more.
Each floor will have four psychiatrists. They also plan to offer various therapy options, such as music, art expression, yoga or dance, and even have a trained therapy dog.
Dayton Children’s President and CEO Debbie Feldman said she’s proud that the hospital system has stepped up to face what she called a “youth mental health crisis."
“From no mental health (hospital) beds prior to 2017 to now a brand new building with 48 inpatient beds and a whole continuum of services,” Feldman said. "What's important is we are this region's children's hospital, and if we don't step up to meet this need, who will?”
Associate Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kelly Blankenship expressed a similar view.
“It's really all about meeting the kids where they are … Every kid deserves to have whatever service they need for their mental health close to home,” Blankenship said.
The need for youth mental health services has dramatically increased, Blankenship said.
“So we were really seeing … a mental health need and the need for more access prior to COVID. But COVID — that was gasoline on a fire,” Blankenship said. “During COVID and even … the aftermath of COVID, the need had just risen to a degree I don't think we ever thought we'd see.”
Each of the 48 patient rooms costs roughly $100,000. The rooms are designed for patient safety, Blankenship said, with things like magnetic fabric shower doors to barricade-free entrances.
“These rooms are specifically made so there is no way that a child could harm themselves,” she said.
Key aspects of the facility’s design include bright colors, lots of natural lighting, and access to the outdoors, which research shows can improve patients’ mood, according to Blankenship.
The center will accept its first patients starting July 15.
