New mental health hospital opens in Edwards, restoring care on Colorado’s Western Slope

Colorado once again has psychiatric beds available west of the Front Range after Vail Wellness opened a new inpatient facility last week Until in the last few days West Springs Hospital in Grand Junction was the only option for inpatient psychiatric therapy between metro Denver and Salt Lake City The hospital closed in early March because of financial difficulties though its detoxification facility and outpatient clinic remained open Precourt Healing Center which sits on a campus in Edwards that also houses outpatient mental medical providers and public organizations working with youth accepted its first patients on May As of Friday afternoon three people from across the western half of the state had started care there noted Kim Goodrich director of behavioral soundness inpatient operations Precourt differs from West Springs in a meager techniques It isn t set up to provide detoxification care so people who are struggling with addiction as well as a mental robustness condition will need to stabilize elsewhere after starting their care at Precourt Goodrich explained The facility also can t treat as numerous patients at the same time with beds rather than at West Springs she revealed We fill a gap that was left by their closing but there are smaller pieces that need to be plugged up she stated Another difference is that patients can t walk into Precourt to seek care but need a referral from an emergency room or an agency that partners with Vail Soundness West Springs operated a psychiatric exigency room that could admit patients directly Vail Healthcare designed Precourt to treat patients holistically with healthy meals exercise options and complementary therapies such as art and music as well as traditional one-on-one or group therapy revealed Dr Teresa Haynes director of inpatient behavioral strength The goal is to allow people to use different parts of their brains to work through their crises and to give them selected tools to manage their mental robustness when they go home she explained Individuals who are in this level of problem don t necessarily want to talk about their story all day every day she explained Related Articles Hospital systems in Colorado saw improved finances in but Medicaid cuts are looming threat Colorado school district approves transgender athlete ban though questions about implementation remain Colorado school district seeks restrictions on transgender athletes amid Trump crackdown Denver Physical condition unveils plan for million coming from new sales tax this year Charges dropped against officers in Christian Glass death in deal for additional training video Precourt also uses remote monitoring innovation to avoid disrupting patients sleep to check that they re safe overnight Goodrich noted The system uses infrared light to see if the person is in their bed and to check that they re breathing without showing a clear image that would invade their privacy she noted Psychiatric hospitals check patients frequently at all hours to ensure they haven t harmed themselves Majority of people will ostensibly stay three to five days before transitioning to outpatient care Goodrich explained It s taking that immediate acute problem stabilizing getting the support around them and getting them back in the society she mentioned Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get strength news sent straight to your inbox