KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — The Knox County Commission, along with Mayor Glenn Jacobs, is asking the State of Tennessee to provide financial support for the construction and operation of a mental health hospital in Knox County.
In a resolution Monday night, county officials urged the state for help to begin building a public in-patient mental health care hospital that will help East Tennesseans.
Kyle Ward, the 4th District Commissioner who first brought this to the attention of the commission, said the need for a new facility surpasses political parties alignments and said that it's a "people's issue."
"This is a county issue and I think all of us coming together and working together," Ward said. "This is something that should not be partisan, all of us should be able to get behind this."
There are four state mental health hospitals in Tennessee located in Bolivar, Chattanooga, Memphis and Nashville.
The closest mental health hospital to Knox County residents is the Chattanooga facility. So, patients need to travel about two hours to get the help they need.
Ward said a hospital in Knox County will not only help Knoxvillians but also help counties across East Tennessee.
"We'll take in patients from the Middle Tennessee area, from Johnson City area from our neighbors and Maryville and in Oak Ridge, so it will not just serve just our community but the broader community," Ward said.
In a statement to WBIR, Mayor Glenn Jacobs said, "Mental health is a significant and growing issue in Knox County. I'm very supportive of the commission's resolution."
He additionally added that he is looking forward to working with the state to find a way to help provide long-term mental health resources.
In response to the county's resolution, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services released a statement. It is available below.
“We are aware of a Knox County Commission resolution that makes inaccurate allegations about the state’s response to the closure of Lakeshore Mental Health Institute. The TN Department of Mental Health has closely tracked and reported on the reinvestment of more than $20.5 million annually into critical behavioral health community services in Knox County.”
The state department says they will continue to work with their provider, family, consumer agencies and with leaders from Knox County as they help Tennesseans living with severe mental illness.
The department also said they have had a strong partnership with Peninsula and "have met the acute care psychiatric hospitalization need through a contract with them, two additional private hospitals, and an expansion of capacity at Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute."
Right now, the county, city and state along with the McNabb Center are working to address the mental health issue in the Knox County area. They are all working together on a small medical clinic at the Old St. Mary's campus in North Knoxville.
Leann Human-Hilliard, Regional Clinical Vice President at the McNabb Center, says there is an immediate need here.
"I think Knoxville is fortunate to have a lot of community-based services, but there's always still more need," Human-Hilliard said. "So what we believe is the greatest need is to have individuals seen immediately and experience a different level of care when they're in an emergency."
When opened, patients will be able to get mental health care for up to three days. The McNabb center is collaborating with the city and county to run the medical clinic.
Commissioners say three days for mental health treatment isn't enough for many in need.
"[The mental health hospital] will help get people that need service quicker and right now, we don't have any options for this but to ship our problems somewhere else," Ward said
This demand comes after years since the closure of Knox County's only state-funded mental health hospital Lakeshore in 2013.
The resolution from the Commission states that the closure "left few options for Knox County citizens with mental health issues who lack the finances means to seek effective treatment."
They hope the mental health hospital will help Knoxville's growing homeless population, people with mental health illnesses and those who are unable to seek help due to financial strains.
County leaders said it's in the interest of all Knox County citizens that affordable and effective mental health facilities be provided.