Coweta County set to get new mental health facility

0
158

 

Coweta County will soon get a mental health facility for children and adults located on Hospital Road in Newnan.

“Coweta County and the Coweta County Hospital Authority are partnering with Pathways Center to build new mental health facilities for children and adults in Coweta,” said Coweta County spokesman Tom Corker. “A 30-bed adult unit and 12-bed child and adolescent unit will be built on land owned by Coweta County, adjacent to the health department building on Hospital Road in Newnan.”

Corker said the new units will replace Pathways’ existing facilities in LaGrange and Meriwether counties.

A memorandum of understanding with the hospital authority to provide up to $5.5 million in funding to build the facilities was approved by the Coweta County Commission on Jan. 5. Coweta County staff will provide project management services which include bidding out the project and construction oversight, said Corker.

The hospital authority manages the proceeds from the 1982 sale of Coweta General Hospital and the funding is coming from those proceeds, Corker said.

“The authority will lease the facilities to Pathways over a 20-year period with lease payments designed to reimburse the authority for the cost of the construction, then the facilities will be transferred to Coweta, which will continue leasing the facilities to Pathways,” said Corker.

Pathways provides services for those with mental health issues, developmental disabilities and substance addiction problems in a 10-county area comprised of Coweta, Carroll, Heard, Troup, Meriwether, Pike, Upson, Lamar, Butts and Spalding counties.

Corker said a “certificate of need” from the state is not required for this project, so work on the project can begin as soon as all paperwork is completed.