Updated information has been added to this story
CANTON − Stark Behavioral Health Urgent Care supporters say the new facility signifies the community’s commitment to behavioral health.
On Aug. 13, the ribbon was cut on the $14 million, 21,000-square-foot treatment center at 2421 13th St. NW replaces the Stark Crisis Center, which was built in the 1970s.
“This project has been in the works for a long time,” said Steve Bossart, vice president of Coleman Health Services, which has 41,000 clients in 57 counties. Locally, Coleman served 7,000 crisis clients and 900 families last year.
The new urgent care center’s components include 24/7 crisis services, a crisis stabilization unit, a “988” call center, and a new crisis receiving unit, including a 23-hour involuntary hold area offering a better alternative to hospital emergency rooms and jails.
It also will continue to offer an adult mobile response program for ages 21 and older and other services.
Jeff Daffler, president and CEO of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the new facility will not only benefit individual clients but also will have a positive economic impact.
“I’m constantly reminded of the challenges in the workplace,” he said. “The work that Coleman does is central in ensuring care and restoring people to the workplace. I’m grateful as a member of the community that we have a facility available to provide care when it is needed.”
Opening doors of hope at Stark Behavioral Health Urgent Care
Mayor William V. Sherer II said the center is a welcome addition, adding that it’s crucial because “it meets people where they are.”
“We’ve been waiting for this day a long time,” he said. “Today is more than about cutting a ribbon; it’s about opening doors of hope and healing for every community in Stark County.”
Sherer said the urgent care center’s designated drop-off for police and other first responders will positively impact those services, as well as clients.
“You really knocked it out of the park,” said Dr. John Kennedy, chief medical officer at the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health.
Kennedy said the late President John F. Kennedy’s dream of community-based treatment did not accomplish what he envisioned back in 1960. He recalled that when he was a young doctor, people in mental health crisis were taken to emergency rooms or relegated to padded cells.
“I remember sitting on floors and talking to people,” he said. “Canton is very, very lucky to have a facility like this.”
Hattie Tracy, president and CEO of Coleman Health Services, called the new facility “a transformational investment in how behavioral health care is delivered.”
“It represents a significant investment in the health, safety and well-being of our community, and a renewed commitment to ensure that individuals experiencing behavioral health challenges have access to the care they deserve,” she said. “Each day people throughout Stark County face mental health and substance abuse challenges that can feel overwhelming and isolating.
“Too often, they don’t know where to turn, or they encounter barriers when they seek help. At Coleman Health Services, we believe behavioral health is health care. … They deserve the same urgency, compassion and clinical expertise we expect of any other medical condition. We believe behavioral care is health care. That belief is what drives our work and it’s what brings us together today. “
An intentional project
John Aller, executive director of Stark Mental Health & Addiction Recovery, or StarkMHAR, said the community has good reason to celebrate.
“One thing I want to emphasize is that this project has been intentional from day one,” he said. “It’s a remarkable example of community buy-in and sends a message that behavioral health is a community priority.”
Aller said funding for the project was made possible through partnerships between state and local governments, and such local philanthropic organizations such as the Hoover and Timken foundations, the Paul and Carol David and Lemmon foundations, the Stark Community and North Canton Medical foundations, and the Health Foundation of Massillon.
“We wanted to build the right service model in the right location with the right partnerships to meet the needs of the community today,” he said. “When local foundations were presented with the vision for this urgent care center, they recognized the importance of investing in behavioral health. Their support demonstrated a belief that individuals experiencing mental health and substance use challenges deserve access to care that is timely, compassionate, trauma- informed, and accessible.”
Aller added that a place where people can find help when they need it strengthens the local behavioral health system.
“And it reflects what happens when a community decides that behavioral health deserves the same attention, urgency and investment as other health care,” he said. “I’m proud of what we have accomplished together, and I’m even more excited about what this facility will mean for the people who will walk through these doors in the 50 years ahead.”
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.
On Twitter: @cgoshayREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: ‘Community priority.’ Stark Behavioral Health Urgent Care ribbon cutting
Reporting by Charita M. Goshay, Canton Repository / The Repository
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By Charita M. Goshay, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
