Prescott VA Hospital Opens Mental Health Clinic

By Katherine Fritcke
Published: Friday, May 15, 2015 - 9:06am
Updated: Friday, May 15, 2015 - 3:12pm
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The Northern Arizona Veterans Hospital has added a new clinic to its Prescott campus to help treat the rising amount of mental heath and substance abuse patients coming to the campus for help.

Mary Dillinger with the hospital said the out-patient clinic will help accommodate the 180 patients who visit the Prescott hospital every month.

“We needed to find a way, so that patients who maybe have substance abuse issues, but don’t necessarily need to stay in the program at the domiciliary, can still get the care and treatment that they need. So, now we can provide that,” Dillinger said.

The new mental health building is designed to help treat the increasing number of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse. The new 76-room clinic was built after the facility identified a gap in treatment available.

“Some patients weren’t getting enough of the care they needed, and some patients had somewhere to live, they had a job, they had had other things that they couldn’t stay at the domiciliary for a permanent several months treatment plan," Dillinger said. "But, they needed some kind of substance abuse program. So, we are going to be able to provide that at the new clinic."

She said they also hope the new clinic will help offer an extension to their telemedicine program to help veterans suffering from PTSD in more rural parts of the state.

Dillinger said the hospital saw almost 5,500 mental health patients in 2014, that’s up 10 percent from the previous year. 

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