“The new hospital will add more than 200 beds for patients, making it easier for people who need mental support to get that help,” DeWine said. “This new facility will be bright, will be welcoming and designed to promote patient recovery using all the knowledge that we’ve gained about mental health over the years.”
No details have been released about exactly where the hospital would go, when it would open, or how much it’s expected to cost. DeWine did say the Dayton facility “will be very similar” to a recently opened psychiatric center in central Ohio that cost about $140 million and took several years to build.
The $10 million that’s already been approved will go toward acquiring the land and producing initial designs. The most recent state-run mental health hospital that opened in May took several budget cycles to build, starting under Gov. John Kasich in 2018.
DeWine said the investment is part of his administration prioritizing mental health services and improving resources across the state. He said the state is also investing in Ohio’s six existing mental health hospitals, building more recovery homes, and expanding facilities like youth centers that host programs supporting mental health.
“Over the past six years we’ve made great strides in realizing our dream, our dream of building our statewide system of mental health care,” DeWine said. “We’ve got a ways to go, but we’ve made great progress.”
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who formerly represented the Dayton area in the General Assembly, said that the closure of the Twin Valley state hospital in Dayton 16 years go by then-Gov. Ted Strickland as a cost-saving measure during the Great Recession created waiting lists across the state.
“This funding begins to remedy a 16-year-old mistake,” Husted said. “You ask any sheriff in the state and they will tell you there is a need for more mental health treatment facilities.”
DeWine signed the budget Friday after it was passed Wednesday by the Ohio General Assembly, allocating $4.2 billion in state funds, including $717 million in one-time funding for projects across Ohio.
This included more than $166.4 million for projects in this eight-county region of southwest Ohio.
The budget was opposed by some local lawmakers, some on fiscal conservative grounds and some because of disagreement about how the money was spent.
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