New Mental Health Facility Opens in Hoover
Hoover, AL – The city of Hoover, Alabama welcomes the opening of a new facility aimed at addressing the mental health needs within the community and across the state. Longleaf Recovery and Wellness is a state-of-the-art center that will cater to individuals grappling with a mental health crisis.
Offering a Range of Mental Health Services
The facility has committed to providing outpatient care and a range of services such as individual therapy, group therapy, case management, and medication management. Furthermore, Longleaf Recovery and Wellness has pledged to host mental health programs open to everyone in the community. The center also offers meeting spaces for support groups.
A 2022 report published by Mental Health America placed Alabama at 50th out of 51 states and US territories regarding access to mental healthcare. The opening of this facility is considered a step towards rectifying this alarming statistic.
A Major Step in Mental Health Care Access
“There are very few of these programs across the state and this is filling a huge gap in our community,” quoted Kimberly Boswell, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health. The CEO of Longleaf Recovery, Colin Harris highlighted the distinctiveness of this facility, making it one of the first of its kind in the area.
Filling a Critical Gap in Mental Health Services
The establishment of Longleaf Recovery and Wellness follows the launch of the Birmingham Recovery Center, a specialized facility dealing with both mental health and substance abuse disorders. The necessity for a center like Longleaf became evident when the need for primary mental health care, without the element of substance abuse, surfaced.
Preliminary operations at the facility will commence with five full-time therapists, each capable of handling up to ten patients. This arrangement aims to bridge the gap between those needing in-patient care for their mental health crisis and those who need more support.
Future Developments
Plans are in motion to set up eleven crisis care centers and a total of 23 mobile crisis teams across the state. Commissioner Boswell believes these initiatives will be vital in addressing the state’s mental health crisis. The budget for these developments has been factored into this year’s Alabama Department of Mental Health’s budget which is expected to be discussed in the legislature this week.
