SILVER SPRING, Md. (7News) — Addressing mental health remains a priority in Maryland as more than 838,000 state residents aged 12 and up suffer from a mental health condition.
On Thursday, Compass Health opened a new crisis mental health care center that provides immediate, comprehensive and specialized services to adolescents, young adults and adults. The new location is in Silver Spring however the health center also offers a virtual program for Marylanders state-wide.
The new health center comes after a $120 million grant fund to support school mental health services to help students suffering from mental health disorders in the state of Maryland.
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“All of us at Compass Health Center are eager to open our new location in Silver Spring to support the mental health of residents across Maryland,” Dr. David Schreiber the Founder of Compass Health Center and Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist, said. “We believe in our innovative program – one that hinges on providing immediate access to comprehensive and specialized care. Nothing positive happens to families that are left sitting for hours or days for mental health needs in an emergency room or sent home to be left on a wait list for weeks to months to obtain care. With Compass’s unique model, those in need of our help will talk live to someone on our team within 24 hours and be scheduled for an intake same day or next day.”
Not only will Compass Health provide a boost to Marylander’s mental health but it is also providing a boost to the state’s local economy. The health center is bringing 100 new jobs to Maryland.
“We’ve seen the impact Compass has made on Illinois, and we are excited to replicate that impact in Maryland,” Schreiber said.
The Chair of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Maryland Board, Denise Evans, said the opening is a huge step forward to improving the quality of life for Maryland residents struggling with mental illness and will support Maryland overall, adding that “Compass Health Center will support the broader state, and will help to provide care to individuals that have been affected by mental illness, which will also benefit their loved ones and communities.”
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State Senators Will Smith and Malcolm Augustine were also on hand for Thursday’s ribbon-cutting and both lauded the opening of the health center.
“Mental health issues need to be treated with the same care and urgency as physical disorders,” Augustine said. “The opening of Compass Health Center brings us closer to that goal, helping to ease burdens on an already complicated health system,”