$10 mil. mental health hospital to be dedicated

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 | 11:20 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The latest addition to the state's mental health system -- a $10 million hospital -- will be dedicated Sept. 12 in Sparks.

The hospital, to replace one built in the 1950s, looks more like a nice motel, says Carlos Brandenburg, administrator of the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services.

It has high ceilings, indirect lighting, courtyards and a "very spacious atmosphere," which should help patients to recover, Brandenburg said.

It will be named after Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno and Assemblyman Joe Dini, D-Yerington, who both pushed for the money in the 1997 Legislature.

Although the focus is to treat patients in the community, Brandenburg said there is still a need for a core facility for the more troubled person. It will open with 40 beds for acute care patients and 10 beds for those under psychiatric observation. The latter are admitted to the hospital for 72 hours and then are either released or transferred to the acute unit.

The hospital features a gym for patients to play basketball or volleyball. There's a creative arts section for those who want to draw or work in ceramics.

There are no high walls or razor wire around the facility. But Brandenburg said it was secure to keep the dangerous patients in. There are shatterproof windows and two locked doors before a patient could escape.