Dallas-based Children's Health will create a new 100-bed pediatric unit at Texas State Psychiatric Hospital for children and adolescents.
Texas State Psychiatric Hospital is an adult facility being constructed through a partnership between Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Texas HHS Commission.
The new hospital will have 200 adult beds and is under construction. Its pediatric addition is slated to open in early 2026.
"This donation is a key part of our comprehensive strategy and ongoing commitment to expand access to pediatric and adolescent behavioral health services in North Texas," Lindsey Tyra, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Children's Health, said in a Sept. 9 news release from UT Southwestern Medical Center. "We know that addressing this growing pediatric mental health crisis requires a concerted, coordinated response from resources and experts across our community.
Children's Health's 2021 "Beyond ABC Report" revealed that roughly 133,375 North Texas children have an emotional disturbance or addictive disorder. It also found that pediatric mental health-related emergency room visits rose by 24 percent in 2020.