There are a record number of patients in our community needing access to psychiatric services. This growing need is far outpacing East Alabama Health’s ability to provide care and services for patients within our current facilities.
- Since 1955, the number of state-funded psychiatric beds in Alabama has declined by 97%.
- Since 2006, the number of emergency department visits related to behavioral health has risen by 44%.
- In 2023, 73% of college students with a mental health condition had a crisis on college grounds in the United States.
To meet these needs, we are expanding our mental health services and building a freestanding Center for Mental Health near Spencer Cancer Center and Pinnacle Cardiovascular Associates.
- The Center for Mental Health will stand as a statement that patients with mental health needs in our community are supported, and the facility will become a beacon of hope for recovery.
- The Center for Mental Health will bring prominence to EAH’s mental health services – to help recruit new physicians and promote a future psychiatric residency program to train the next generation of psychiatric physicians.
- The Center for Mental Health will house both our inpatient units (adult short-term, child/adolescent short-term, and adolescent long-term) and the East Alabama Psychiatric Services (EAPS) outpatient clinic.
- The Center for Mental Health will give us space to grow and meet the increasing demand for services from patients in our community.
If you would like to learn more about our Give Hope campaign and how you can support it, please contact Susan Cowart, EAMC Foundation Director, at 334-528-5923 or email susan.cowart@eamc.org.