NORFOLK, Va. — Things are taking shape at the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) pediatric mental hospital in Norfolk.
The facility hasn't opened yet; it's been under construction since they broke ground on Gresham Drive in 2019. That year, officials said the health center was a $224 million project.
The 60-private bed, 14-story mental health hospital is scheduled to open for some services business in August of 2022.
CHKD Chief of Psychiatry Dr. Carl Petersen said the mental health hospital will have 60 private rooms for children and their parents. Each room is built with safety in mind. Petersen said there are no sharp edges on the furniture and in some rooms a place for touch therapy.
“There are some items and rooms that a child can use to self soothe if they’re feeling any internal distress," he said.
Dr. Petersen added that the hospital will offer more bed space to take in more patients.
“It's not unusual for children in our community to come to an emergency room in crisis and need to wait one to two to three or four days in an emergency department while we search for a bed someplace in the state of Virginia.”
The mental health hospital will be in the same area as Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Norfolk's CHKD hospital.
On Wednesday, CHKD allowed reporters to tour a patient room and rooftop recreational area of the building.
A spokesperson said the new hospital is gearing up to "transform pediatric psychiatric care in Hampton Roads and across the Commonwealth."
Construction started months before the coronavirus pandemic, but the facility will be in a unique position to help children who are facing new mental health challenges as a result of the crisis.
“It’s a community effort to be able to build a world-class facility like this," said Dr. Petersen.
The construction for the mental health hospital started in 2019 and when completed more than 400 medical and support staff will be working in the building.