NNRH behavioral health unit ready but not yet admitting patients, hospital says

Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital chief spokesman Steve Simpson told the Elko County Board of Health that the hospital has completed a formal dedication for its new behavioral health unit (BHU) but has not yet begun inpatient admissions.

"We were so thrilled to be able to have a unit dedication ceremony," Simpson said, and added that the facility is near completion but waiting on a few supply-chain and compliance items before opening to patients. Simpson said magnetized, antiligature doors have arrived but that required polycarbonate window coverings remain outstanding and that a state surveyor is scheduled to review the unit in mid‑February.

Simpson described a change in the unit configuration after construction: the hospital moved away from a split geropsychiatric plan to a single 16‑bed adult psychiatric unit, citing state requirements for physical barriers between subunits that would have made the original plan cost‑prohibitive. He said the hospital anticipates an average daily census of about 12 patients after roughly eight months of operation.

Simpson also said the hospital is lining up staff for the unit, naming the incoming admissions director and behavioral‑health clinicians joining from out of state. The hospital also plans an intensive outpatient program to support patients returning to the community after short inpatient stays.

The hospital's stated timeline for admitting the first patient depends on completing the outstanding coverings and passing the state review; Simpson asked board members to visit the unit before it opens.