The state is making plans for a $276,520,000 make-over of the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute using a portion of the state's COVID stimulus funds.
State officials said, "Built in 1961, MBMHI serves patients not served by the private sector and for whom there is no other inpatient treatment option available.
"COVID-19 significantly impacted MBMHI’s ability to serve this population due to the limitations of MBMHI’s aging physical plant."
• Total Cost: $276,520,000 (Based on estimate provided in April 2021).
• TDMHSAS anticipates that design and pre - planning will occur in Year One (FY22 -23) and construction will begin in Year Two (FY 23 -24) continuing into Year Three (FY24 -25)
MBMHI provides the most intensive care and treatment in an inpatient hospital setting. MBMHI is the Department’s East Tennessee Regional Mental Health Institute (RMHI) serving 52 counties. In FY21, there were 2,424 admissions.
• MBMHI is located on 107.09 acres on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga. It operates 165 beds.
• The physical plant at MBMHI is original to the building. Since 2016, the Department has spent approximately $11 million on major maintenance and capital maintenance projects at MBMHI.
Officials said operating a new, more modern mental health institute would enable MBMHI to:
- Implement more modern treatment methods;
- Offer more space for both patients and staff to safely socially-distance infectious patients while reducing anxiety and tension caused by such close quarters;
- Keep patients and staff safe by offering more interior space as well as more frequent access to outdoor areas;
- Effectively protect patient confidentiality by removing visitor rooms from each treatment unit;
- Operating a facility built under the most current healthcare facility design and construction guidelines.