NEWS
University of New Mexico Health unveils new children鈥檚 psychiatric center
Facility to open sometime in July and accommodate 36 beds
Published
A new facility dedicated to helping children facing mental health issues will soon open.
University of New Mexico Health on Tuesday hosted a ribbon-cutting for the new $36 million children鈥檚 psychiatric center that is expected to open its doors at 1001 Yale NE sometime in July, UNM Health Sciences Center spokesperson Tamara Lopez said.
鈥淭his will be a very special place, serving some of the most vulnerable members of our population and it will do so with the compassion, innovation and excellence that define Lobo healthcare,鈥� outgoing UNM President Garnett Stokes said.
The 32,500-square-foot facility, designed to provide modern psychiatric care to children and teens, has 36 beds but can expand to 52. It will also include a four-bed unit for the most acute patients who may be aggressive.
Inpatient care will be consolidated into one building 鈥� instead of four cottages 鈥� and the campus will include three patient courtyards with play equipment, according to UNM Health.
The new center is expected to reduce patient safety incidents, provide a code-compliant environment with modern elements, increase operational efficiency and lower campus operating costs, Lopez said in a news release.
The previous facility, constructed in the 1970s, "was built around a cottage model that reflected the understanding of mental healthcare at the time," Stokes said.
鈥淚t served a truly important purpose, but it was designed for a different time,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ver the last several decades, we have learned so much about the mental healthcare needs of children and adolescents and how to support healing in ways that are compassionate, flexible and centered on the patient. This center is the very embodiment of that progress.鈥�
The new facility will make it easier for caregivers to work together and create a more coordinated environment for children and their families, 鈥渨here the old facility could feel institutional,鈥� she said.
"We took into account the seating, the colors, and the view, to make it a therapeutic space rather than a detention space that sometimes is the impression that psychiatric hospitals have," Dr. Mauricio Tohen, chair of the UNM School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Services, said in a statement.
Funding for the project came from a Higher Education General Obligation Bond that voters approved in 2022. Construction began in fall 2024.
鈥淲hen we gathered here for the groundbreaking ceremony, we spoke about our goals and our aspirations to create a place dedicated to the behavioral health needs of children and adolescents,鈥� UNM Health Systems CEO Dr. Michael Richards said. "We recognized at that time that there are tens of thousands of children and adolescents in New Mexico that need some form of behavioral health support, and we envision that this center could be a major step forward in expanding access to that care (or) services and support to those young people.鈥�
There are plans to add more space to the new children's psychiatric center, but "we don't have funding currently to expand those last two places," UNMH Planner Derek Blaisuis said.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham attended Tuesday's event, praising UNMH's efforts to get the facility built.
"And now, kids with serious mental health and psychiatric issues have a home," she said.
Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.
