PUEBLO — The Colorado Department of Human Services issued a press release Tuesday announcing the construction of a new unit at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, otherwise known as the state mental hospital.
The department said construction began last month on the unit that will add 24 beds to the state's forensic hospital.
Adding the beds is part of a coordinated strategy to ensure patients are able to access competency services in a timely manner, the release said.
According to the department, the additional 24 beds will be in the hospital's High Security Forensic Institute building and are expected to be open in November of 2020. The beds are part of a total of 128 beds beign added this summer through December 2021.
“These beds are important to expand the state’s capacity to serve people who are awaiting trial and need inpatient competency services,” said Robert Werthwein, director of the Department’s Office of Behavioral Health, which oversees the mental health institutes. “Adding beds is part of a larger solution that includes an expansion of community-based services in an effort to better serve people in our state.”
