New behavioral health facility set for public hearing

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB) has been experiencing a mental health crisis for quite some time, whether due to a significant lack of accessible local behavioral health services, a rapidly growing population, or the resulting overreliance on emergency departments for psychiatric care, patients are often forced to travel long distances for treatment or end up in emergency rooms, which are ill-equipped for long-term mental health care and are often already overburdened.

Because of the shortage of specialized care, people in mental health crises often end up in the emergency room at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center (MSRMC). This isn't the most effective or cost-efficient setting for mental health treatment and can delay care for both mental health and physical health emergencies.

“Imagine how you would feel if you’re having a mental break or your child is having a mental break, possibly having suicidal ideations, they’re being held and kept safe in the ER, but it is painful to not be able to get to where you are to be treated,” said James Bunch, Chief Operating Officer for MSRMC. “When you’re having a behavioral health crisis and you’re holding in the emergency room, you’re being kept safe, but you’re not necessarily being treated if therapy really hasn’t begun.”

To address the need, the MSRMC, in partnership with the Mat-Su Health Foundation, has filed a Certificate of Need (CON) application with the State of Alaska to build a freestanding 45-bed behavioral health hospital in Palmer.

The plans for the facility—planned for a 10-acre site east of the hospital's main campus—would provide inpatient behavioral health care for both adults and adolescents. The application also includes the relocation of 16 existing bed licenses from MSRMC and would ultimately expand regional behavioral health capacity.

“This would allow us to increase our capacity to be able to serve patients in a more expedited way. I think that a patient having to wait one minute longer than they need to in an emergency department to get the care that they need is too long. Far too often, we see people having to wait and be sent out of this community to other parts of the state just to get them that care,” says Hope Allison, Director of Behavioral Services, MSRMC.

One important factor with the new facility is the continuum of care, and having that continuing care local to the Mat-Su is a vital piece. The site's proximity to the hospital would enable integrated emergency and medical services, ensuring patients receive coordinated support across various care settings. The borough lacks a complete "continuum of care" for mental health, meaning there aren't enough local facilities to handle the demand. Residents may have to drive to Anchorage for services, which is a hardship for many.

“In healthcare, one of the mantras is the you want to keep the right care at the right place at the right time, and you want to keep patients as close to home as possible,” says Esther Pitts, President and CEO of the Mat-Su Health Foundation. “There are better outcomes for families and those affected with healthcare needs when they can stay close to home. So for us, one of the outcomes is really having a community resource where families can still continue to stay here and get the help they need, both for their children and for themselves.”

Pitts says that simply thinking about the continuum of care, having access to different levels of care are essential to function at the highest levels, and hearing from the community that there is a need for additional resources for people to reach their highest levels of functionality .”It’s really a community effort around this. And it’s a huge collaboration with the hospital, who said ‘we really need this for our patients. And hearing from the community who said ‘we really need this for our loved ones.’”

She adds that in such divisive times, the collaborative efforts that have gone in to the new facility—the hospital, the MSHF, and the community—is a “bright light of unity.”

“I’ve seen…such a high level of support.”

The facility also includes beds for adolescents, another facet of care that is needed here in the Borough. Statewide, more than 132,000 adults in Alaska live with a mental health condition, and suicide rates remain among the highest in the nation—particularly for teens and young adults.

“Patients with behavioral health needs come to our emergency department, they often have to wait, particularly our adolescents. They have to wait for time to go through the legal process, (or) there are not beds available sometimes, (or) services are not available,” notes Allison. She says that while the addition of the inpatient unit in 2020 helped, the unit only had 16 beds. “It was a step in the right direction. But we’ve outgrown that space.”

“Adding adolescents to that mix is extremely important.”

Allison says that additional beds to serve the population—involuntary patients, voluntary patients, and adolescents—is very much needed to be able to support people on their mental wellness journeys. She has been encouraged by the community response and the continuing growth with new community partnerships. “In the Mat-Su Valley, we have such a tight community that it will continue to grow, whether with outpatient providers, substance abuse, adolescent providers, housing, food banks. We all come together to try and meet needs, and this is no different. The outpouring of support, locally and across the state has been amazing.”

By having the new facility on the existing MSRMC campus, patients will able to be get from the ER into treatment without delay. “That’s often the first place people go in any emergency, which we absolutely encourage. But having to wait, there’s just not many options for people, especially for adolescents, and it’s tough to watch people wait,” says CEO Taylor Rudd, who is new to the position and to the area. He is already keenly aware of the growth that is happening in the Mat-Su Borough, and says the MSRMC has to work extra hard to make sure they have the services available to grow with the community. “We’re not as small as we used to be, and we have to have a facility that can address and take care of the population.”

“We do know that support certainly changes outcomes when it comes to medical care or mental health care…We can keep people local, we can support them by having local supports when they’re discharged, then we’re really ahead of the game and providing the excellent care that these patients deserve,” said Hope.

The next step is the public comment period, in which residents have the opportunity to make their voices heard. The State of Alaska will hold a public hearing on Monday Dec. 1 at 3:00 p.m. to hear MSRMC application a critical step in the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) process. To participate via Zoom, please www.us02web.zoom.us/j/86019540023, Meeting ID: 860 1954 0023. Participants can also call in at (833) 928-4609

Community members are encouraged to submit letters of support and share their experiences to help demonstrate the project's urgency and value.

If the state approves the project, construction could begin as early as 2026, with the facility expected to open within 24 to 36 months. The estimated $70 million project would create about 50 full-time, living-wage jobs. The estimated completion within 24–36 months of CON approval.