John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center Marks 2-Year Anniversary

HHSC, UTHealth Houston Collaboration Has Served More Than 12,000 Patients

This month marks the two-year anniversary of the opening of the John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center, a collaboration between the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and UTHealth Houston. The center provides competency restoration, walk-in and other mental health care services for Texans needing help.

“Ensuring robust mental health services are available for all Texans remains a priority, and I am proud that the Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center has been able to serve thousands of patients since 2022,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “Working with the Texas Legislature, we continue to provide additional funding for state hospitals to replace, renovate and expand across Texas. I thank Texas Health and Human Services for collaborating with UTHealth Houston to strengthen their partnership and increase access to critical mental health services in the greater Houston area.”

From its opening in March 2022 to January 2024, the Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center has admitted 4,039 patients and served 8,315 walk-in patients.

“We’re proud of the work being done at the John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center, which is making an impact on the lives of Texans, specifically helping people in the Houston area who need access to mental health services,” said Scott Schalchlin, deputy executive commissioner for the HHSC Health and Specialty Care System.

The Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center is a unique partnership between UTHealth Houston and HHSC. While HHSC funded construction and owns the facility, UTHealth Houston oversees it operations.

HHSC also contracts with UTHealth Houston to add 120 competency restoration beds for patients who are currently in jail and need mental health services to regain competency to stand trial. The additional beds contribute to the HHSC state hospital system and serve the 29 contiguous counties surrounding Houston.

“The Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center, operating for two years, has added significant new resources to care for our patients and their families. This is a great accomplishment for our community,” said Jair Soares, MD, Ph.D., the Pat R. Rutherford, Jr. Chair in Psychiatry at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and executive director of the hospital.

The Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center, which is a part of the UTHealth Houston Behavioral Sciences Campus, accommodates multiple patient populations and levels of treatment with access to medication management, group and individual therapy, and educational and life skills training. One objective for the hospital is providing treatment options for patients struggling with treatment-resistant depression.

“One of our missions was to bring care closer to home, and most of our admissions come from Harris County and its surrounding counties,” said Daniel Doyle, chief operating officer of the UTHealth Houston Behavioral Sciences Campus.

Since opening, the hospital has provided 685 new jobs, hiring 341 psychiatric technicians, 280 nurses and 64 clinicians. The Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center is helping alleviate the statewide shortage in psychiatric care workers by providing annual training for 673 trainees. This group includes medical students, residents, fellows, nursing students and interns. More than 2,000 graduate students from other universities across the state receive essential education at the hospital.

The 253,000 square-foot facility was funded by the 85th Texas Legislative Session in 2017. Since then, Texas leaders have appropriated more than $2.5 billion to replace, renovate and expand state hospitals throughout the state. This spring, HHSC will host grand openings for the new San Antonio State Hospital and Austin State Hospital facilities.

Learn more about the HHSC state hospital system and upcoming and completed projects here.