LAS VEGAS (May 19, 2016) – Responding to an acute need in the Las Vegas Valley, Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center announces plans for an 80-bed inpatient psychiatric facility attached to its existing main hospital structure at its West Sunset Road campus. The facility is slated to break ground before the end of the year and open in 2017. With the addition of this new facility, Southern Hills Hospital will expand to a 266-bed hospital.
The approximately $26 million behavioral health center will ease the chronic lack of space and add services to treat adolescents (ages 13 to 17) through senior patients, age 55 and over.
“The Behavioral Health Center at Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center will transform mental health care in Southern Nevada,” said Adam Rudd, CEO of Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center. “There is a glaring need for additional resources to treat people dealing with addiction, depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders.”
Rudd noted that each day dozens of mentally ill Southern Nevadans have no option but to wait in emergency rooms for a bed to become available.
“This facility marks Southern Hills’ and Sunrise Health System’s continued commitment to those suffering from behavioral health issues,” Rudd said. “We are not only expanding our services to behavioral health patients, but also investing in brand new construction to ensure they receive state-of-the-art care.”
Southern Hills created RISE (Respect, Inspire, Strengthen, Empower) Behavioral Health services in 2012. The 14-bed inpatient unit for seniors expanded in 2014 to include outpatient services, and is certified for its Alzheimer’s disease program by The Joint Commission. When the new behavioral health center opens, the RISE unit will transfer to the new facility, with the geriatric psychiatric program retaining its name as RISE Behavioral Health.
Upon completion, Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center will house more psychiatric beds than any acute care hospital in Southern Nevada. The hospital setting will also foster an atmosphere of holistic care for patients.
“Construction of our new building reinforces Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center as a true community partner,” Rudd said. “Guided by our principles of trauma informed care and relationships with some of the best psychiatrists in Las Vegas, we are poised to provide one of the best mental health provider platforms in the West.”
The construction announcement drew bipartisan praise.
Clark County Commissioner Susan Brager (D-Las Vegas), in whose district the facility will be located, is pleased the facility will accept Medicaid. “Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center’s new psych facility will meet a huge need in District F and Clark County as a whole. The lack of Medicaid psych beds has led to overcrowded emergency rooms in our hospitals and delayed treatment for those in dire need,” she said. “I am pleased that the new hospital will treat psych patients ranging all the way from adolescents to the elderly. It will mean a marked improvement in our county’s care for this terribly underserved population.”
State Senator Becky Harris (R-Las Vegas) echoed those sentiments.
“I am thrilled that Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center is providing solutions for this considerable need in the southwest valley,” she said. “The severely limited number of hospital beds for patients in need of mental health services was a critical gap identified by the Governor’s Council. I congratulate Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center for its timely $26 million investment and for providing 80 new hospital beds for patients in need of mental health services at their full-service psychiatric facility.”
The psychiatric building will operate under the hospital’s license, and will accept patients with state-funded Medicaid coverage, Medicare, and all private insurance.
About Southern Hills Hospital
Voted the Best Hospital in Las Vegas, Southern Hills Hospital provides the communities of southwest Las Vegas with emergency and pediatric emergency services, a new behavioral health (geriatric psychiatric) inpatient and outpatient program serving ages 50 and older, an accredited Chest Pain Center, a Certified Primary Stroke Center, a dedicated orthopedic, neurology and spine unit, OB-GYN, diagnostic imaging and surgical services. Utilizing advanced digital technology and an accomplished medical staff, Southern Hills Hospital’s advanced care and superior service make for better outcomes and an exceptional patient experience. The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in America, recognized Southern Hills Hospital as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 – the only Nevada hospital to earn this recognition for five consecutive years. The hospital is a member of the respected Sunrise Health System consisting of Sunrise Hospital, Sunrise Children’s Hospital, MountainView Hospital and several surgery and diagnostic imaging centers offering a complete range of specialized and technologically advanced services.
Southern Hills Hospital
9300 W. Sunset Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89148
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Need to find a physician or get answers to your health questions? Call (702) 916-5023.