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INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana will have a new neuro-diagnostic center, a plan that aims to fill a gap left when mental hospitals were deinstitutionalized in the mid 1990s. Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration and other officials hope it will serve as a cornerstone in the state's mental health services.
The new Indiana Neuro-Diagnostic Institute and Advanced Treatment Center will be built in Indianapolis. Secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Dr. John Wernert said the center will help identify long-term solutions.
"Because our goal is that once a patient is better we want to make sure we support them and keep them well and not allow them to slip into relapse," Wernert said.
Like many other states, Indiana is dealing with a lack mental health resources after mental hospitals were deinstitutionalized more than 20 years ago. Wernert said this means many people have gone without proper treatment.
"Patients with chronic-psychiatric disease and relapsing chemical dependency have moved to nursing homes, become homeless, have been cared for in emergency departments and general hospitals and most tragically, many have ended up in our Indiana jails and prisons," Wernert said.
The 159-bed facility plans to use advances in brain research and clinical care to diagnosis and determine treatment for mental health disorders as well as physical health needs of patients.
The institute was conceived by the Governor’s Task Force on Drug Enforcement, Treatment and Prevention.
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