(KNOXVILLE, Tenn.) The McNabb Center is pleased to announce that it will soon be operating a Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) at its Hamblen County campus. The CSU provides intensive, short-term stabilization for an individual who is experiencing a mental health emergency. 

The 15-bed unit will offer care 24 hours a day, seven days a week for those who are 18 or older and facing a behavioral health crisis. The CSU will serve the Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services Regions 1 and 2, which include Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson and Union counties.

“The goal of this unit is to divert people, when appropriate, from psychiatric hospitalization,” said Sharon Reid, McNabb Center’s senior director of Hamblen County services. “We believe individuals are best served within their natural support system in their own communities, and the CSU supports this philosophy.”

The CSU will be located in an existing building at the McNabb Center’s Hamblen County campus. Renovations are slated to begin in April and the Center expects the CSU to be operational by August.

This project is funded through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services.

“We know that mental health care works best when people have multiple options at multiple levels, and this Crisis Stabilization Unit in Hamblen County will do just that.  It will provide options for people living through a mental health crisis, their families, staff in emergency departments and law enforcement officers,” said Marie Williams, Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.  “We are excited to see the opening of this Crisis Stabilization Unit, and we are grateful to our partners at McNabb Center for their tireless work to serve the mental health needs of this community.

The McNabb Center is the region’s leading nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, social and victim services. By focusing on an individual’s “Well Mind, Well Being,” we provide a quality and compassionate approach to care from infancythrough adulthood. Since 1948, the Center has proudly served individuals with the most needs and fewest resources. Today, the McNabb Center delivers support to more than 30,000 people throughout East Tennessee each year. For more information, visit www.mcnabbcenter.org or call 1-800-255-9711.