COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital is partnering with Acadia Healthcare to build a 96-bed mental health center in Council Bluffs. City and health care officials announced a groundbreaking for the project Tuesday.

• “As the number of people seeking treatment increases, we are realizing how few resources we have available,” said Dr. Pirzada Sattar, medical director of mental health at Jennie Edmundson.
• “Across the country, it regularly takes two, three, four or six months for people to get access to a therapist, a prescriber or a trained nurse to help them treat their mental illness or drug addiction,” Woods said.
• The center will offer inpatient and outpatient treatment for mental disorders and substance use disorders.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE MISSION:

Neighbors whose loved ones have suffered a mental health emergency know how difficult it can be to find a hospital bed for them if they need it.

I’m your local reporter for southwest Iowa, Katrina Markel.

I am in Council Bluffs, at the site of a brand new mental health facility aimed at alleviating some of these problems.

Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital and Acadia Healthcare, a nationwide mental health company, broke ground Tuesday on a new mental health center in Council Bluffs.

“As the number of people seeking treatment increases, we are realizing how few resources we have available,” said Dr. Pirzada Sattar, medical director of mental health at Jennie Edmundson.

He says demand for mental health care has increased during the pandemic, especially among young people.

“Most young people are waiting for a bed in the emergency room. And since COVID, the number of people asking for help has multiplied,” he said.

There are limited inpatient spaces in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. Methodist cites data showing a shortage of 300 beds in Iowa and Nebraska.

On Tuesday, Sattar told me that Jennie Edmundson’s 24 beds were full and 12 more patients were waiting. Some may go to a hospital in another part of the state for treatment.

“That’s why it’s so important for our community to have this resource close to us,” he said.

Jeffrey Woods, a doctor of nursing at Acadia Healthcare, says it’s a nationwide trend that includes access to outpatient services.

“Across the country, it regularly takes two, three, four or even six months for people to gain access to a therapist, a prescriber or a trained nurse to help them treat their mental illness or substance abuse,” Woods said.

“If someone is asking for help. Emotional help, emotional trauma, we need the help now. We need the help right now,” Sattar added.

The new mental health center will have 96 beds, including 24 for children and adolescents. It will also include outpatient programs for mental illness and substance use disorders. The center is scheduled to open in 2026.