RUSK, Texas — An East Texas mental health facility celebrated a $200 million addition Wednesday that will allow physicians to provide more services and add several more amenities, such as common areas and recreational activities.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission officials held a ribbon cutting for the new $200 million patient complex and administration building at Rusk State Hospital in Rusk.
Rusk State Hospital has been opened for 104 years and serves 36 counties in East Texas, offering inpatient adult psychiatric services. It helps an average of 270 people each year.
Gov. Greg Abbott said mental health is a top priority in Texas and the state has allocated more than $25 billion to support and expand mental health services across the state since he became governor.
“The grand opening of the newly renovated Rusk State Hospital will help provide more mental health services to patients in East Texas," Abbott said in a news release. "This updated facility, which has a long history of serving the Rusk community, will ensure the hospital can continue to serve Texans for many years to come. I thank the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for their work with local and community partners to oversee the construction of this new state-of-the-art facility.”
Abbott and the Texas Legislature have approved about $200 million in funding for this state hospital construction project since 2017.
The new three-story, 227,368-square-foot patient complex has a 100-bed non-maximum-security unit and 100-bed maximum security unit. The unit increases the number of maximum-security beds from 40 to 100 with the hospital’s overall capacity staying the same, according to the HHSC website.
“We’re excited to be able to offer our Rusk State Hospital patients care in a state-of-the art building that will help facilitate their recovery,” said Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young. “Thank you to those who invested in our state hospitals so that we can give our patients the help they need.”
In the hospital, there are single-person rooms and outdoor spaces for healing. The patient complex has a theater, music room, beauty salon, canteen, library, gym, greenhouse and teaching kitchen as well.
The administration building, which was completed in 2021, accommodates the administration department and IT staff.