Behavioral Health Hospital Planned In Pensacola

Press release from Medistar:

Sept. 27, 2021

Medistar Corporation ("Medistar") and Voyages Behavioral Health ("Voyages"; an affiliate of PAM Health) are pleased to announce the development of Voyages Behavioral Health of Pensacola, a state-of-the-art behavioral health hospital. When completed in 2022, Voyages Behavioral Health of Pensacola will be one of the first hospitals to integrate inpatient medical and psychiatric care.

Identifiying a need in behavioral health services across the country, PAM Health established Voyages Behavioral Health to offer an additional service line and specialized care to this underserved patient population.

"We have come to recognize the importance of an integrated care model for individuals in need of medical and behavioral health services who, until now, could not be effectively treated in one setting," says Kristen Smith, PAM Health's EVP and President of Clinical Innovation and Business Intelligence. Kristen adds that PAM Health's expansion of services into behavioral health is an exciting endeavor that aligns with the company's mission and vision. "With this unique model of care, Voyages Behavioral Health of Pensacola will address these patients' comprehensive needs at once, helping them achieve sustainable, long-term health and wellness, while ultimately reducing the cost of care."

When fully operational, Voyages Behavioral Health of Pensacola's 200 employees will serve hundreds of patients through various programs tailored to the unique needs of the community, which could include services for adults, older adults, and specialty programs for trauma and military service members," according to Andrew Hardin, SVP and COO of Voyages. "Our multi-disciplinary team of psychiatrists, internists, psychologists, social workers, and other specialists will provide comprehensive and coordinated short-term care tailored to the needs of each patient," he says. "The main care components include diagnostic behavioral health evaluation, solution-focused treatment, behavioral strategies with inpatient and partial hospitalization, medication evaluation and management, intensive outpatient programs, and aftercare planning." Voyages Behavioral Health chose Pensacola to provide much-needed services in the growing Pensacola MSA (Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL metropolitan statistical area), which has a population of over 500,000.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, and nearly 2.9 million Floridians have a mental health condition. "That's more than six times the population of Miami," according to NAMI.

"This vulnerable patient population has been underserved in the U.S. for a long time, and has been greatly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medistar is honored to work alongside Voyages Behavioral Health nationwide to develop efficient, adaptable hospitals that help to provide much needed care and healing, and to close this ever-widening gap," said Mark Jang, Medistar's Senior Vice President for Development on the project.

This press release was produced by Medistar. The views expressed here are the author's own.