ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced his proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget includes a bold $1 million investment to assist Sheppard Pratt’s Baltimore/Washington campus in constructing a new 16-bed Crisis Stabilization Center. This new center will help residents in crisis avoid needing higher levels of care, such as Emergency Departments or inpatient units, and it will help other county residents transition from higher levels of care sooner than they otherwise could. Photos of the event can be seen here.
With depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and substance use disorders among the leading causes of disability worldwide, it is deeply concerning that access to behavioral health care across our country is too limited for too many. That is why I have allocated an additional $1 million in funding to support Sheppard Pratt’s construction of a new Crisis Stabilization Center. It is imperative we continue to invest in our behavioral health infrastructure to ensure that every resident has the resources and care they need to live a healthy and supported life.
In his FY 2024 budget, Ball included $1 million in funding for Sheppard Pratt to use towards constructing its new Crisis Stabilization Center. This added $1 million, plus the approximately $3.6 million in State support will allow Sheppard Pratt to start construction of this new facility in late 2024, with a slated opening in late 2025.
I appreciate the support of the County Executive and the county to provide this additional $1 million in funding for construction of our new facility for a Residential Crisis Services program. It will help Howard County residents in crisis avoid higher levels of care such as emergency departments or inpatient units, and it will help other county residents transition from those higher levels of care sooner than they otherwise could.
The Center will also compliment Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center’s new Behavioral Health Unit (BHU), by providing the hospital with the option to transfer patients, freeing up beds in the BHU. Together, the Center and the BHU will help ensure residents in crisis are receiving the right level of care they need at the right time and in the least restrictive and least costly setting.
This Center also supports Howard County’s Continuum of Care (CoC) for behavioral health by filling a gap in the availability of short-term stay crisis services. Since taking office, Ball has made it a priority to fill these gaps through the expansion of the County’s CoC and increase access to crisis, outpatient and residential services. Progress and investments include:
- Established a school-based mental health services program with Howard County Public School System to ensure that all 58,000 children in every county public school have access to mental health resources and services.
- Invested more than $1 million in community-based services for youth to increases access for children and families who are historically not able to receive critical, live-saving mental health care.
- Contributed $1 million to Sheppard Pratt’s new 85-bed hospital in Elkridge, which includes a walk-in urgent Psychiatric Care Unit to prevent emergency department visits and get people the care they need more quickly.
- Invested $2 million in funding for Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center’s new emergency BHU.
- Expanded Grassroots Crisis Intervention Mobile Crisis Teams to operate 24/7, allowing Grassroots to meet the increased demand for urgent and ongoing mental health and substance use disorder services in Howard County.
- Funded Behavioral Health Navigators at the Howard County Health Department (HCHD), Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center and Grassroots, who connect community members, providers and families to resources in the community.
- Provided funding to Tuerk House and Hilda’s Foundation, Inc. to open three halfway houses in the county.
“Improving access to mental health services and simplifying the process to navigate these services remains a public health priority. The increase of treatment opportunities provided by this new Sheppard Pratt facility is an important step in supporting this mission,” said Dr. Maura J. Rossman, Health Officer, Howard County Health Department.