UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday for the Texas Behavioral Health Center, the first state-operated behavioral health hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
The facility, located at 4855 Harry Hines Blvd. in Dallas’ Southwestern Medical District, will provide inpatient care for adults and children with serious mental health conditions. Admissions are scheduled to begin this summer, with nearly 300 beds once the facility is fully operational.
The Texas Legislature allocated $384 million for the design and construction of the hospital, which features 200 adult beds and 92 pediatric beds, with funding in part from a $261 million donation from Children’s Health. It is the second state hospital in North Texas, joining Terrell State Hospital.
State Sen. Royce West, who represents parts of Dallas, described the new center during the ceremony: “It’s not just a structure of brick and mortar. It’s a sanctuary.”
Dr. Hicham Ibrahim, a professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern who helped design the facility, emphasized patient-centered features, per KERA. “All of it is designed with the patient at the center of our thinking, really to get our patients to be better in the shortest amount of time possible and allow access to more beds for other patients,” he said. “This is going to be a hospital that will serve needs that are currently going un-served, unmet, whether it’s for patients who have been committed by the jail to get in treatment or patients who just need that kind of treatment.”
The hospital joins Texas’ network of 10 other behavioral health facilities. It forms part of a broader statewide effort that has seen more than $2.5 billion invested since 2017 to expand and modernize psychiatric hospitals. Officials said the new center will help serve patients closer to home and reduce strain on the criminal justice system, where individuals with untreated mental illness sometimes end up.
UT Southwestern President Dr. Daniel Podolsky noted that “The Texas Behavioral Health Center brings together comprehensive treatment services, new models of care, and training across the behavioral health disciplines to support better outcomes for patients and families. UT Southwestern is honored to partner with HHSC in advancing this important resource for our state.”
Stephanie Muth, executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, stated that “HHSC is thankful to Gov. Abbott and the state Legislature for their ongoing commitment to building a stronger mental healthcare system in Texas.”
The pediatric unit is described as the largest in the country dedicated to this purpose. West said it nearly doubles the state’s capacity to serve adolescents with severe mental health illnesses.
Officials noted that current projects could add about 700 beds statewide by fiscal year 2028. The facility will include both civil and forensic beds.
Some advocates have called for even greater capacity increases as demand for mental health services has grown. West acknowledged ongoing needs: “There’s still work to be done. So, we need to make certain we continue that work.”
The Texas Behavioral Health Center is one of seven new or expanded psychiatric projects across Texas aimed at addressing longstanding gaps in inpatient behavioral health care.
The Dallas Express has covered the development of the Texas Behavioral Health Center since its early stages, including the project’s groundbreaking in December 2022 and its planned summer 2026 opening as reported earlier this year.
