(Carle Health/Artist Rendering)
WEST PEORIA, Ill. – A wall coming down at the former Heddington Oaks in West Peoria might just be symbolic of the hops of many that the walls will come down around the stigma of mental health.
“We celebrate this incredible moment as we tear down the wall, literally and figuratively, of mental health and addiction recovery, to build a safe place for healing and growth at the Trillium Place Young Minds Center,” said Dr. Napoleon Knight, Chief Medical Officer, Carle Health.
Carle Health Wednesday ceremonially demolished a wall at what will be the “Trillium Place Young Minds Center” — a 44-bed inpatient youth mental health facility that is expected to open next year.
“One of the nice features here is that we’ll be able to separate by age, and gender, and really expand services, because sometimes we have to limit how many patients we can treat in a given time, due to those considerations,” said Mary Sparks-Thompson, president, Trillium Place.
(Carle Health/Artist Rendering)
Thompson says there’s only a limited number of beds for mental health treatment at Methodist and Proctor Hospitals, and only a few at each for youth, leading to thousands being sent away every year.
In addition to the first wall being demolished, “We will be renovating all these care areas. They ill be completely overhauled — really not recognizable, I think, from what you see today,” said
Thompson. “Part of the work that we have to do, and the reason the construction takes some times, is that we have to comply with all the safety regulations as it relates to a behavioral health facility.”
Officials say they’re also on track to raise at least half of the $30 million needed for construction and renovation.
Peoria County sold the former Heddington Oaks to what was then UnityPoint Health last year. The hospitals, at the time, committed to the other half of the funds needed.
