The purpose of the new PEMHS Campus Master Plan is to provide the children of our community with a new and modern crisis unit, and PEMHS core community partners with a community diversion center as a direction for new and improved facilities, and to better accommodate their existing mental health services and programs. This plan also intends to provide additional services, through PBHSOC (Pinellas Behavioral Health System of Care) Community Partners to be located on the PEMHS campus.
The goal of this collaboration as stated in the Wellness Connection partnership, developed by the community stakeholders of the PBHSOC, is to improve access to appropriate behavioral health care treatment, and follow-up wrap-around services. This, in turn, will reduce the utilization of hospital emergency departments, jails, prisons, and homeless programs.
By separating the new children’s unit in a state-of-the-art community diversion center building, PEMHS will allow for a more children-centered, more therapeutic, and wellness-conducing environment for a faster and long-term recovery and well-being of our children. A new 20 bed Children’s CSSU will be designed to enhance the therapeutic environment, allow for the separation of young children and older youths, provide adequate space for assessment, and provide additional space for therapeutic recreation.
The intended result of community partner collaboration is to provide a centralized receiving facility with community diversion services. PEMHS is referring to this facility as the Community Diversion Center. The Center will provide Pinellas County with a centrally located, 24/7 intake facility for law enforcement, voluntary and involuntary intake, assessment, and referral. The facility will address the needs of both Mental Health and Substance Abuse patients.
PEMHS also plans to improve our existing Crisis Stabilization Units through extensive renovations and improvements.
All of the above is intended to begin the process towards an overall wellness-oriented collaboration that helps meet the needs of our children and adults for mental health services in Pinellas County by engaging the providers, residents, and communities in Pinellas County and to promote and provide more effective and comprehensive mental health services using a no-wrong-door approach.