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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — There’s a growing need for mental health care in East Tennessee. According to a new report released Friday by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the region has significantly fewer facilities and psychiatric hospital beds than needed.
The study said there is an immediate need for 88 inpatient psychiatric hospital beds with that need expected to nearly double by 2050.
“But what it is that the central part of East Tennessee has nothing, and that’s what the real issue is. We do have mental hospitals in other parts of the state. But if you look at the mental health hospital desert, it’s centered around Knoxville,” said Briggs.
The department conducted this study following an October 2023 letter from Lieutenant Governor McNally, Senator Becky Massey (R-Knoxville), and Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville). They were worried about the ongoing impacts of the 2011 decision to close Lakeshore Mental Health Institute, a hospital that served 24 counties surrounding Knoxville.
Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga is now the closest state mental health facility. According to the state, this facility admitted 688 patients in 2023 from the former 24-county region previously served by Lakeshore.
The report explains that this lack of resources fails the patients with the highest needs in the region. Many are disconnected from family, left to live on the streets, or end up behind bars.
“We have a lot of needs in this community that are not being met by the present facilities. I know our county sheriff says that the Knox County Jail is the largest mental health facility in the state right now and up to 25% of our prisoners have serious mental health needs that could be served in some place other than the county jail,” said Briggs.
This study is just the first step toward building a new state inpatient psychiatric hospital in East Tennessee. Next, legislators will work to find funding for a facility.
