The 15-bed unit, located on the fifth floor of the medical center, will provide a much needed resource for veterans and alleviate the need to transfer them to Fayetteville, Ark., or Oklahoma City.

Patients will be able to be treated for depressive, psychotic and anxiety disorders that require a 3- to 14-day length of stay.  According to Dr. Madhu Koduri, chief of Behavioral Medicine Service, there has been 169 percent increase in mental health services from fiscal year 1996 (2,500 patients)  to fiscal year 2006 (6,619 patients). The state-of-the-art unit will begin accepting patients on July 31.