A Look Inside the Precourt Healing Center as New Behavioral Health Facility Readies for May Opening
Vail Health‘s Precourt Healing Center, a new inpatient behavioral health treatment center in Edwards, opens to patients on May 5. The Vail Daily toured the facility with Dr. Teresa Haynes, the director of inpatient behavioral health.
When it opens, the Precourt Healing Center will be the only inpatient mental health facility between Denver and Salt Lake City, Utah, following the closure of West Springs in Grand Junction in March. Medicaid will not pay for treatment across state lines, meaning the Precourt Healing Center will be the only Western Slope option for patients.
The Edwards facility was intentionally built to promote patients’ healing during their stays, which typically range from three to five days, though some will stay longer.
One of Vail Health Behavioral Health’s goals is to provide a full spectrum of treatment for behavioral health patients, from in-school offerings to outpatient care to inpatient stays. The Precourt Healing Center is the final piece of the puzzle.
Patients assessed as being in behavioral health crisis and needing a higher level of care can be connected with the Precourt Healing Center, which will not accept walk-ins. Patients will arrive through the private ambulance loading bay, either in ambulances or unmarked vehicles.
Vail Health Behavioral Health has worked for years to create a continuum of care on its Edwards campus, with its outpatient and research facilities immediately adjacent to the Precourt Healing Center at the Wiegers Mental Health Clinic.
Inside the facility, everything has been designed with safety and healing in mind. The walls are either painted soothing shades of blue, green, off-white, and brown or feature enlarged photographs of nature scenes. Furniture is both aesthetically pleasing and safe, with heavy chairs and rounded table edges.
