RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Virginia Commonwealth University Health System plans to build a new psychiatric treatment facility for children, according to a news release from the university. VCU would like to build the new Virginia Treatment Center for Children (VTCC) on the Brook Road Campus of Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
VCU is currently going through the zoning process to get the facility built on the campus along Brook Road near Brookland Parkway.
“The new facility will allow for a more robust environment for the VTCC’s clinical care, training and research missions,” Aradhana “Bela” Sood, M.D., medical director of the VTCC, said in a statement. “This service embodies the spirit of how our hospital cares for the whole child, and one more way we are creating a caring community for children.”
VCU said the center would “provide state-of-the-art clinical care for children from across the state.” It noted there are about 100,000 children and adolescents in Virginia in need of mental health treatment.
The Virginia Treatment Center for Children currently operates in a “50-year-old facility” on the VCU Medical Center campus in downtown Richmond. VCU said at times bed shortages prevent them from admitting some children in need of inpatient care. The new center would expand both inpatient and outpatient opportunities, according to the news release.
“VTCC provides services for children and adolescents with mental health issues ranging from depression and ADD/ADHD to anxiety, autism spectrum disorder and behavioral problems at home and school,” the news release indicated. “Last year, VTCC had approximately 750 inpatient admissions for children between the ages of 3 and 17, and its clinicians had more than 6,000 outpatient visits.”
