Psychiatric wing at Evans 10 years in the making
http://gazette.com/psychiatric-wing-at-evans-10-years-in-the-making/article/1514276
Evans Army Community Hospital.
Psychiatric wing at Evans 10 years in the making
By Tom Roeder Updated: February 9, 2014 at 3:22 am Published: February 9, 2014 | 3:05 am
Fort Carson's latest addition is complete with rounded corners, detachable doors and suicide-proof towel hooks.
The 14-bed in-patient psychiatric facility on the fifth floor of Evans Army Community Hospital has been in the works for nearly a decade and will accept its first patient in a few weeks. Completed as part of a $27 million renovation of the hospital, it will allow the Army to care for its most serious mental health patients at the post, rather than sending them to Colorado Springs or Pueblo.
~snip~
Cho, now commander of Army medicine in the western U.S., pushed for the psych ward when he commanded Evans in 2005. He said adding the higher level of care will allow Fort Carson to deal with mentally ill troops who increasingly are being allowed to recover and stay in the service.
"Now, 85 percent of those with PTSD stay in uniform," Cho said.