Seven new state hospital projects—including new ones in Wichita Falls and Terrell—have been announced to better serve people in need of inpatient psychiatric services.

Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) projects are funded by $1.5 billion approved by the Texas Legislature in 2023 to expand, renovate, and build new facilities across the state.

Another North Texas hospital construction project funded by the state of Texas—the nearly half-billion-dollar Texas Behavioral Health Center at UT Southwestern—is already underway.

Abbott said that state officials are working hard to boost access to critical behavioral health treatments across Texas.

“Last year, I signed a law to provide crucial funding to expand and build new, modern mental health facilities throughout Texas,” Abbott said late last month. “These new state hospital projects will help ensure that Texans experiencing a mental health issue have access to mental health professionals and high-quality treatments to address their needs.” 

State officials said the hospitals will have special importance for many people in the state.
 
“We’re extremely proud of the transformation of our state hospital system and the opportunities being created,” Scott, Schalchlin, deputy executive commissioner for the HHSC Health and Specialty Care System, said in a statement. “These projects will improve the well-being of even more people across the state. We’re not just building hospitals—we’re rebuilding lives.”

Projects in North Texas and beyond

The following projects are in various stages of planning and design, with many slated for construction later this year:

• North Texas State Hospital-Wichita Falls: Constructing a 200-bed replacement hospital. Budget: $452 million.
• Terrell State Hospital: Constructing a 250-bed replacement hospital. Budget: $573 million.
• Panhandle State Hospital (Amarillo): Constructing a new state hospital to serve 75 patients in a non-maximum-security unit. Budget: $159 million.
• Lubbock Psychiatric Center: Constructing a new state hospital with a 50-bed maximum-security unit. Budget: $121 million.
• Rio Grande State Center (Harlingen): Expanding current facility to add a 50-bed maximum-security unit. Budget: $120 million.
• San Antonio State Hospital: Renovating an existing building to add a 40-bed maximum-security unit. Budget: $15 million.
• El Paso Psychiatric Center: Planning and land acquisition to expand the current facility by 50 non-maximum-security beds. Budget: $50 million.

Abbott and the Texas Legislature have provided $2.5 billion since 2017 for capital projects to modernize and increase access to inpatient psychiatric care in Texas.

“I thank my partners in the Texas Legislature and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for working tirelessly to increase access to mental healthcare resources that will serve Texans for generations to come,” Abbott said.

HHSC said the Terrell State Hospital is a replacement hospital. It will have 250 beds: 50 maximum security, 140 forensic non-maximum-security, 35 adolescent and 25 civil commitments. Construction is scheduled to begin late this year.

HHSC is planning to build a replacement hospital for the North Texas State Hospital-Wichita Falls campus that will have 200 beds: 24 of them maximum-security, 136 non-maximum-security, 24 for children, and 16 for civil commitments. Construction on the Wichita Falls facility is scheduled to begin later this year.

Grand openings for replacement hospitals in Austin and San Antonio were hosted earlier this year. HHSC also completed renovations at Kerrville State Hospital and opened new facilities at Rusk State Hospital and the John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center in Houston.

Texas Behavioral Health Center at UT Southwestern

HHSC said that construction continues on the 292-bed Texas Behavioral Health Center at UT Southwestern in Dallas. The adult unit and pediatric unit are scheduled for completion in summer 2025 and spring 2026, respectively.

HHSC partnered with the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas to design, construct and operate the Texas Behavioral Health Center at UT Southwestern. It will have 200 adult and 92 pediatric beds.

The facility’s $282.5 million for the adult wing was approved by the 87th Texas Legislature and an additional $102 million was approved by the 88th Texas Legislature to complete construction. Children’s Health provided $200 million to construct a pediatric wing.

In September 2023, UT Southwestern appointed Dr. Jonathan Efron as the executive vice president for Health System Affairs. Efron will oversee the integration of clinical, research, and educational missions at UT Southwestern, which includes the new Texas Behavioral Health Center.

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