Behavioral health center will be first in Polk County to offer ‘partial hospitalization' 

Feeling stressed out? A lot of people are right now. Experts say the pandemic is putting extra pressure on everyone. Stress and depression are just some of the issues Lakeland Regional Health plans to treat at its new Center for Behavioral Health Center.

With construction already going on behind them, hospital and elected officials officially kicked the project off on Thursday. The center will be three light-filled, one-story buildings with 96 beds for adults and children.

"This is the kind of place we want them to go to get back on track," Lakeland Mayor Bill Mutz told Fox 13.

Lakeland Regional and other mental health care providers in Polk County say the new facility is sorely needed. There is only one mental care professional in Polk, for every1400 people.

In addition to community education and hospitalization, the center will provide "partial hospitalization," which has never been offered in the county before. Clients who need services can check-in and out daily.

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"You participate in individual and group therapy," explained Alice Nuttall, who will head up the new facility. "You usually have a meal or two during the day, then you go home at night. You sleep at home, wake up the next morning, and come back."

The Center for Behavioral Health is scheduled to be done by next summer.

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