Psychiatric hospital for older adults opening in San Marcos

July 23--A psychiatric hospital for adults 55 and older is opening next month in San Marcos, the only free-standing mental health facility of its kind in Central Texas, hospital officials said.

Plano-based Oceans Healthcare, which has facilities in Texas and Louisiana, is opening Oceans Behavioral Hospital San Marcos on Aug. 3 in collaboration with SRP Medical, a health care investment and development company. The new for-profit hospital will have 24 beds and expects to employ 40 to 50 health care workers and other staff, said Terry Jackson, community liaison director for Oceans in San Marcos.

"Our geriatric population has grown by leaps and bounds in this area," Jackson said. Having a geriatric psychiatric hospital in San Marcos "is so much easier for seniors and their families who don't want to make rides into big cities," such as Austin and San Antonio.

The 20,000 square-foot hospital is in renovated space at 1106 North Interstate 35, former home to the World Gym. The redo cost $2 million, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

The hospital will care for patients with conditions such as schizophrenia, depression and addiction, officials said. In addition, patients who have a medical issue will be able to receive care in the hospital, they said.

When officials announced the hospital was coming, community residents made "numerous requests for help" for young adults who need assistance with their mental health, Jackson said. As a result, she said, the hospital will also operate an outpatient program, starting in November, that will serve adults 21 and older. Only clients 55 and older who need a hospital will be admitted to the Oceans facility.

In recent years, Central Texas, which has had a shortage of mental health beds, has seen a resurgence in psychiatric hospitals, with two opening in Georgetown and the Austin Oaks Hospital opening in South Austin.

Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos offers psychiatric hospitalizations to geriatric patients, but that unit has halted admissions while adding medical staff. "Until we are fully staffed, we have temporarily stopped admitting additional patients," hospital spokeswoman Rachel Nelson said in a written statement.

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