BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — PrairieCare is celebrating the 30,000-square-foot expansion of its Brooklyn Park hospital and an additional 30 inpatient psychiatric beds designed for youth and young adults with mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, mood disorders and trauma.
"I can't believe that it was one year ago today that we were standing in the same spot celebrating the groundbreaking," PrairieCare CEO Todd Archbold said Wednesday during a ribbon-cutting event.
Down one hallway, there are double occupancy rooms with two beds for youth to share. A separate hallway offers single-occupancy rooms for young adults. Each room has its own restroom regardless of bed count. The doors to each restroom are padded and magnetic, allowing them to snap shut. They can also be easily removed for emergencies.
The facility also includes classrooms, lobby areas and a "Zen den." All of the furniture is weighted, making it more difficult to lift or move.
"It's not just about adding beds," NAMI Minnesota Executive Director Sue Abderholden said. "It's about adding a beautiful healing space."
The expansion is set to serve an additional 1,000 young people each year. It comes almost 10 months after Children's Minnesota opened its first inpatient mental health unit for kids and teens on its St. Paul campus. Similarly, the unit was expected to serve more than 1,000 young people annually.
Still, PrairieCare said nearly one-third of Minnesota students are struggling with long-term mental health issues and said there are fewer than 200 beds for them in total statewide. This excludes state-run facilities.
Many young people end up going to the emergency room for mental health services.
According to a press release, the lack of psychiatric inpatient beds for youth is due to several issues including a lack of funding, the workers shortage and a statewide moratorium on the construction or expansion of hospital beds. However, the state legislature passed legislation last year temporarily waiving the moratorium.
"Ultimately we'd like to reduce the need for an intensive level of care whenever possible," Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead said. "Whether we're working proactively or responding to crises, we need resources to do that work of course and that's why this spring the Minnesota legislature invested $200 million."
"When we discussed this bill on the Senate floor, I mentioned my cousin. She was hospitalized with depression and she couldn't find inpatient care," Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (DFL, D-60) added. "She had good insurance so that was not the issue. There just weren't enough beds. She was loved but she was also tired and she died from suicide."
"I always say our mental health system isn't broken," Abderholden also added. "It was never built."
The new beds will be available starting Monday, Sept. 25.
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