(GEORGETOWN, Del.)- State Representative Ruth Briggs King is encouraging residents to attend a public hearing that will be held on a proposal to build a 90-bed psychiatric hospital in Georgetown.
The hearing on the application by Sun Behavioral Health will be held by the Delaware Health Resources Board on Tuesday, September 29th at 2:00 p.m. at Delaware Technical Community College's Jack F. Owens Campus (Carter Partnership Center, Room 509, 21179 College Drive).
Rep. Briggs King attended the last meeting on this proposal and specifically requested that the venue for the next meeting be held in Sussex County so that individuals most impacted by Sun Behavioral Health's application to construct a psychiatric facility would have the ability to attend.
In August, Rep. Briggs King submitted to the Delaware Health Resources Board a letter of support for the new hospital, stating that the need for in-patient mental health services in Sussex County is great. In her correspondence, Rep. Briggs King also said that "through personal family experience I know the challenges and difficulties that Sussex County residents must endure when faced with mental health care needs."
She also wrote, "The lack of available beds, opportunities to visit, or participate in a plan of care are all impacted by the distance of the nearest facility. As a medical professional for over 20 years, I am ever mindful of our first and foremost duty, 'do no harm.'"
Anyone wishing to present oral comments at this hearing should contact the Delaware Health Care Commission at (302) 739-2730 by September 22nd. Anyone wishing to submit written comments must do so by the close of business on September 22nd to the Delaware Health Care Commission (Margaret O'Neill Building, 3rd Floor, 410 Federal Street, Suite 7, Dover, DE 19901).