Rethink hospital on Moccasin Bend
Mental health is one of the biggest issues facing our society, and thankfully our governor has committed $277 million to create a new mental health facility in Chattanooga.
The decision has apparently been made to build this critically needed resource [near] the land currently occupied by the existing facility. Several alternatives have been considered, including one on the Erlanger campus. This site is particularly interesting in that it is easily accessible to staff, patients, families and the EMS system, and adjacent to the tertiary services provided by Erlanger. It is also the trend for new psychiatric facilities to be co-located on academic medical center campuses.
Rebuilding this new facility on the 800-acre national park site will dramatically affect the ability to implement the vision of a new national park and expanded Riverwalk. Every city must continue to reinvent itself if it is to remain relevant. This project could be Chattanooga’s new “Central Park.”
Before this very critical decision is finalized, please listen to the community (“The Chattanooga Way”) and create both a world-class mental health facility and an incredible new national park.