Currently, the nearest facility offering this level of care is in Fayetteville, about a 45-minute to 1-hour drive for many families. Clinicians say the new unit could help reduce wait times and connect children with care sooner.
"We deserve the best, and we shouldn't have to travel outside of our county to be able to receive these much-needed services," said Sharita Godwin, DNP, RN, patient care manager at Cape Fear Valley Harnett. Godwin, who has worked in the county for more than a decade, says she's seen the need for these services firsthand.
"We don't have anything for adolescents. So what you see is a lot of times they are present to the emergency department. They're sitting there, they're waiting for days. We've had patients who are up to two months while they're waiting for a placement, whether it be for inpatient or more long-term care. So they kind of fall through the cracks," Godwin said.
The Dorothea Dix Adolescent Care unit, a first for Harnett County, will provide specialized treatment for patients ages 12 to 17 struggling with conditions such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
"The goal here is really to stabilize the patient. We want to make sure they're going to have the tools they need to go back out in society," said Kelly Honeycutt, director of operational support at Harnett Cape Fear Valley.
With an average stay of three to five days, Honeycutt said the new 16-bed unit will offer much-needed relief to local families.
"It's hard for adolescents at this time to be able to, you know, deal with managing a mental health crisis, and having to drive hours to receive that care is not very realistic," she said.
Godwin emphasized that early intervention, including group therapy and other support services, can make a life-changing difference. "We can start it early, I mean, the same thing we would do if somebody had a heart condition. Right. We want to look at it early so we can provide that treatment throughout the lifespan," Godwin said.
The nearly $10 million facility is expected to open in the coming weeks.
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