{"id":642,"date":"2026-05-21T22:07:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T22:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/?p=642"},"modified":"2026-05-21T22:07:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T22:07:00","slug":"alta-views-new-center-addresses-mental-health-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/?p=642","title":{"rendered":"Alta View’s new center addresses mental health needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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  • Intermountain Alta View Hospital’s new behavioral health center will accept adult walk-in patients.<\/li>\n
  • The Maternal Mental Health Unit deals with pregnancy-related mental health issues, such as postpartum depression.<\/li>\n
  • NAMI of Utah estimates that one in five Utahns has some type of mental health issue at some point.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Intermountain Health will open a 56-bed behavioral health center at Alta View Hospital in Sandy. It’s a move health system officials praise that will significantly enhance mental health care for Salt Lake County residents.<\/p>\n

    The center is scheduled to begin serving patients in June, and community leaders, health officials, media and patients were given a tour of the facility Thursday. The 84,000 square foot facility features walk-in crisis care and inpatient treatment for adults. Walk-in care for pediatric mental health crises is available at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital on the Taylorsville campus.<\/p>\n

    Hospital Director Scott Robertson said state data shows “approximately 30 percent of Utahns have a mental illness. That’s more than one in four people.” <\/p>\n

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    People tour a bedroom at the Behavioral Health Center at Intermountain Health Altaview Hospital on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Sandy. <\/span>| Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    “We all probably know someone who has struggled in some way in their life. What an amazing opportunity to take care of our friends and neighbors here at Altaview.”<\/p>\n

    NAMI Utah data suggests that one in five Utah adults is experiencing a mental health crisis. And in 2023, the 988 crisis line received nearly 35,000 calls.<\/p>\n

    The center also has beds for people who need medical substance detox. But one of its most unique features is its small unit, which provides care to women experiencing a mental health crisis during pregnancy or within a year after pregnancy.<\/p>\n

    maternal mental health care<\/h3>\n
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    A note of encouragement will be on display at Intermountain Health Altaview Hospital’s Behavioral Health Center in Sandy on Thursday, May 21, 2026. <\/span>| Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    The Maternal Mental Health Unit is a six-bed inpatient program created with the mother-infant bond in mind. Janet Hintze, director of nursing at Intermountain Alta View Hospital, said infants are not allowed to stay in the unit overnight, but are welcome to visit and bond with their mothers in their care. She said the unit would meet mothers “where they are, at the most vulnerable times in their lives.”<\/p>\n

    While mental health care for mothers is available in other programs, this new unit has features that are unique to Utah and one of very few in the nation, Hintze said.<\/p>\n

    The maternal mental health department is independent from other inpatient behavioral health center departments and directly addresses the “emotional, psychological and physiological needs associated with pregnancy and early parenting,” hospital officials said.<\/p>\n

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    Chief Nursing Officer Janet Hintze, RN, speaks to attendees during the opening of the Behavioral Health Center at Intermountain Health Alta View Hospital in Sandy on Thursday, May 21, 2026. <\/span>| Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    Psychological problems that can occur during and immediately after pregnancy include postpartum depression, anxiety, postpartum psychosis, trauma-related disorders, and symptoms related to substance use.<\/p>\n

    During the program, hospital officials said these not only harm the mother’s health, but can also affect her bond with her baby and the stability of the family as a whole.<\/p>\n

    The Utah Department of Health and Human Services reports that depression and anxiety are the most common birth complications. In Utah, it is estimated that 1 in 8 people suffers from postpartum depression and 1 in 3 suffers from anxiety, depression, or postpartum depression.<\/p>\n

    As visitors walked through the ward on tours, they passed signs that read: “Maternal mental health is essential medical care.”<\/p>\n

    in times of crisis<\/h3>\n
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    Intermountain Health employees Allie Ashurst, Jamie Maximik, Liz Pearson and Eric Liston embrace after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Intermountain Health Altaview Hospital in Sandy on Thursday, May 21, 2026. <\/span>| Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    Mr Robertson said the project took almost five years to get from concept to ready to open, but was a “dream come true” for dozens of people involved, including not only the health services side but also contractors, architects and workers from several departments, including Sandy City. <\/p>\n

    He noted that people in mental health crises often end up in emergency departments, where they can end up waiting hours or even days to get a hospital bed. Currently, adults in crisis can go directly into behavioral health centers and expect to receive targeted support for their crisis.<\/p>\n

    Intermountain Salt Lake Central Market and Intermountain Medical Center Director Ralph Jean Mary said the centers are dedicated to supporting the mental health of the community, which he called a “major initiative.” <\/p>\n

    Dr. Ben Holt, senior medical director of behavioral health care at Intermountain Utah and Nevada, said the need for behavioral health care is not abstract. It’s not something that happens to other family members. It’s emotional for everyone.<\/p>\n

    “They’re going to need mental health support in a couple of days. Most people in crisis didn’t expect it. It wasn’t the next event on their calendar. But when a crisis happens, what they need most is a safe space. They don’t need shame or judgment. They need safety, expertise, compassion, and community,” he said his patients have taught him.<\/p>\n

    Holt said these are things the center will provide.<\/p>\n

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    Liz Owens, chief executive officer of the YWCA of Utah, speaks at the opening ceremony of the Center for Behavioral Health at Intermountain Health Altaview Hospital in Sandy, Thursday, May 21, 2026. <\/span>| Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    The final speaker, Liz Owens, CEO of the YWCA of Utah, said families are exhausted and anxiety, loneliness, domestic violence, trauma, instability, grief, fear and homelessness are all weighing on people. <\/p>\n

    “What we know deep down is that mental health is inseparable from the rest of our lives. Sometimes we are healthier than others, but we all experience moments of struggle, healing, recovery, and hopefully wellness. When support systems are not in place to help people on their journey to health, the effects ripple through families and communities.”<\/p>\n

    Jean Mary said the center nearly doubles the number of behavioral health beds in Salt Lake County. He said Intermountain has two behavioral health access centers in the Valley, one at the new facility and one at LDS Hospital. <\/p>\n

    Each open house guest was given a small “behavioral health dictionary” that introduces what Hintze calls “some of the words you want to include when talking about behavioral health services.” For example, talking about addiction and suicide is a respectful and “patient-centered” way to do so, she said.<\/p>\n

    The new behavioral health center, themed “Together We Thrive,” is located at 9660 S. 1300 East in Sandy.<\/p>\n

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    People walk through the maternal mental health unit at Intermountain Health Altaview Hospital Behavioral Health Center in Sandy on Thursday, May 21, 2026. <\/span>| Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    #Alta #Views #center #addresses #mental #health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Intermountain Alta View Hospital’s new behavioral health center will accept adult walk-in patients. The Maternal Mental Health Unit deals with pregnancy-related mental health issues, such as postpartum depression. NAMI of Utah estimates that one in five Utahns has some type of mental health issue at some point. Intermountain Health will open a 56-bed behavioral health … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1373,1371,968,173,488,1370,1369,1372],"class_list":["post-642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-addresses","tag-alta","tag-center","tag-health","tag-mental","tag-news-department","tag-news-feed-local","tag-views"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}