Planned $62M youth mental health hospital in east Charlotte still needs $25M in funding
Plans are underway to open a behavioral health hospital in east Charlotte for children and teenagers, a facility that would be the largest of its kind in North Carolina, Starmount Healthcare Management announced on Wednesday.
The Katie Blessing Center will provide services for people ages 5 to 18, the Charlotte-based healthcare company said in a news release. It’s expected to open in 2025 at 5516 Central Ave. Starmount purchased the 5-acres property from the city of Charlotte for $2.7 million last year.
Its namesake comes from Starmount founder Michael Estramonte’s mother.
Starmount has committed $20 million to the project and has received $17.5 million in state funding.
The company is trying to raise another $25 million to complete the facility and is seeking the public’s help for funding through capital investment and naming opportunities for amenities in the center, Estramonte said.
Some of the features for the 70,000 square-foot facility will include therapy rooms, group activity areas, a gym, tutoring center, salon, barbershop, animal therapy and outdoor spaces.
Starmount is focused on improving the pediatric mental health crisis, which impacts one in four youths, according to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. North Carolina’s Health Department said the state ranked almost last in access to quality psychiatric care for young people.
The Katie Blessing Center will offers services in one place that other North Carolina facilities don’t have under the same roof, according to Starmount. Some of these services include behavioral health urgent care, 72 inpatient beds, a psychiatric residential treatment program and outpatient services.
Starmount is hiring about 300 people for the center.
Atrium Health’s Behavioral Health Service Line is working with Starmount through Dr. Rabiya Hasan, who will serve as interim director during the planning, design and building phases of the project.
“Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among children,” stated Martha Whitecotton, a retired health services leader at Atrium Health and Katie Blessing Center board member, in a news release. “Jail is quickly becoming an alternative to treatment for children experiencing mental health issues.
About Starmount and StarMed
Starmount was founded in 2014 and operates several affiliated services such as StarMed Healthcare.
StarMed opened in 2018 as a 24/7 walk-in clinic and immediate care center for underserved communities. During the COVID pandemic, StarMed managed thousands in 40 counties in North Carolina.
More than 2 million vaccines, tests and antibody treatments were distributed during the pandemic.
