When people experiencing a mental health crisis arrive at emergency rooms in western Iowa, they can spend hours — sometimes days — waiting for psychiatric treatment because there simply are not enough beds available. A new facility opening soon in Council Bluffs hopes to change that.
Methodist Jennie Edmundson Behavioral Health plans to welcome its first patients in mid-June. The 96-bed facility is a partnership between Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital and Acadia Healthcare.
“This is unique for our community,” said Dr. Monica Arora, the hospital's chief medical officer. “Acadia comes with a wealth of information and experience in behavioral health, and Methodist Jennie Edmundson has very strong roots in the community.”
Arora said the facility is designed to help address growing demand for inpatient psychiatric care in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska.
“There is definitely a gap when it comes to serving clients struggling with mental health issues,” Arora said. “This hospital is built to bridge that gap.”
The hospital will offer more than short-term stabilization. Arora said the medical team will focus on what she described as “whole-person care.”
“We are not just addressing symptoms; we are looking at each patient’s medical, psychological and social needs together,” Arora said. “We will be able to follow our clients through the path of their recovery and hand them over to our community partners, so they don’t really feel they have to start over.”
That holistic approach includes tranquil outdoor spaces and a gym. Arora said no patients will be turned away because they lack insurance coverage.
Hospital officials are continuing to recruit staff and are planning a soft opening to give employees time to adjust to the new facility before ramping up to full capacity. Patients will have access to some of the following services:
• Acute inpatient care
• Partial hospitalization
• Intensive outpatient programs
• Electroconvulsive therapy
“We really want to be successful,” Arora said. “This is a brand-new facility with brand-new processes, so we want to start slowly and make sure everything is working the way it should.”
The opening comes as Iowa continues to face major shortages in mental healthcare.
According to NAMI Iowa, the state ranks last in the nation in psychiatric bed availability at state-run facilities, with just two beds per 100,000 residents. The national average is 12 beds. A proposal introduced this past legislative session aimed at adding beds at the state mental health institutes in Cherokee and Independence stalled in an Iowa Senate committee after passing in the Iowa House.
Mental health advocates say the lack of treatment options often leaves patients without care until they reach a crisis point.
“There is a lot of stigma attached to it,” Arora said. “Accessibility — there are not enough beds in the community. I believe that leads to a lot of undertreatment of psychiatric disorders. We want to eliminate that barrier to accessing services.”
