UNC Health Pardee is building a psychiatric inpatient unit designed to meet the unique needs of adolescents.
The Hendersonville, N.C.-based hospital is planning to open a 33-bed inpatient unit in 2026. John Bryant, EdD, vice president of operations and support services at UNC Health Pardee, said the unit is being designed to specifically accommodate adolescents and support healing.
The project, which received funding from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organization Vaya Health and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, is designed to meet critical needs for adolescent mental health in North Carolina. But, because of a lack of access, adolescent mental health units often serve patients from across the state and beyond, Dr. Bryant said.
Dr. Bryant spoke to Becker's about how the system is preparing to welcome its first patient in 2026.
Question: This unit is being renovated to specifically cater to adolescents' behavioral health needs. Can you say more about how you're designing this new space?
John Bryant: One of the things we know is important for therapeutic healing spaces, and we have an excellent model for that already in an adult unit in our hospital, is that we want spaces that help to build resilience, that give space for healing, but also space for individual growth and clinical work. When we started exploring this opportunity, we spent a lot of time talking with the leadership at the [UNC] School of Medicine, specifically to understand models that are designed for adolescents — not asking adolescents to accommodate spaces that previously existed. Our design principals are built around serving young people from a recreational therapy standpoint, from a behavioral health standpoint, and focusing on their individual and personal healing. We're being very thoughtful about each of those elements. We're excited to have partners that have expertise in that space.
Q: Workforce shortages are a challenge for many behavioral health providers. How are you preparing to staff this new unit?
JB: Workforce is a top priority, ensuring that we have the very best individuals to be able to provide the very best care. Our recruitment of those individuals has already begun, and it's 12 months before the first patient is under their care. We have behavioral health registered nurse positions already posted, and we're already talking with our clinical training partners. We know anytime you start a service line from scratch, you want to allow that team to help design what the clinical protocols will look like.
We're in a very coveted place to live. Western North Carolina is a gorgeous area, and we often find that people are excited to live here. Like other areas in the country, that also means that housing markets are highly competitive, and finding a place to live can be challenging. What we do very well is create an environment where you're rooted in the community. It's certainly the signature of the culture at our hospital. We're already engaged with workforce partners, training partners, folks who are doing similar work across the state. That's one of the benefits of working with UNC Health. As a system, they're recognizing opportunities to grow young professionals and seasoned professionals across the state with the expansion of services.
Q: How are you leveraging your partnership with the UNC School of Medicine for this project?
JB: The school of medicine is leading the provider recruitment efforts, and they are providing the medical staff that will be a running point on the care. When we think about the way we utilize the expertise of the School of Medicine and their leadership, they have provided models for this level of services across the state.
Clinical staff on a behavioral health unit require very specific training, advanced training, and unique training that is going to best serve young people, differently than adults. We want to make sure those folks are prepared, well resourced, and they have an opportunity to learn from others who are experienced in that environment. So, we're really leaning on the expertise of the school of medicine. We're learning on the expertise of our own personnel. We have a psychiatric therapeutic healing unit in our hospital for adults, so we have the opportunity to use those learnings and rely upon that staff, but the school of medicine allows us to leverage the entire state.
Q: What's the biggest challenge in preparing to open this new space?
JB: Anytime you're engaged in construction on your own campus, you have to navigate a very delicate dance with the clinical services that are still being provided while a construction project is going on. I think any healthcare leader would love the idea of building in a separate green field, where you're not going to touch anything. But when you're conducting a renovation and a construction project on your hospital campus while clinical services are being offered to patients, we have to be very intentional about how those things are phased, how ensure the safety of our patients and staff, and that we have a successful renovation project that is renovated on time.
The biggest challenge, like anything else, is maintaining our focus on each of those details over an extended period of time, and continuing to keep our focus on our first patient. We begin a number of meetings asking how we can be best prepared to serve every patient that will need us when our doors open. That's our focus.