New Crisis Stabilization Unit

Anyone with a mental health crisis can now get 24/7 treatment at Holy Cross Hospital in the Chicago Lawn area.

The hospital opened its doors to the city's first comprehensive medical unit.

Sinai Health System dedicated its new $6.5 million Crisis Stabilization Unit to treat patients experiencing a mental health crisis. This unit will also serve as an alternative to standard emergency rooms, which at Holy Cross are already overcrowded and not really equipped to deal with psychiatric emergencies.

The unit is set up to serve 32 patients at a time. It’s the first and only 24/7 center that offers access to health professionals who can rapidly diagnose and treat mental health conditions.

Sinai Health System leaders say the unit allows a partnership between criminal justice system and the state of Illinois and that's where Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Governor J.B. Pritzker chime in.

The governor says adding this unit on the southwest side of the city is not just going to save lives, it's setting up a bright future for mental health care.

Sheriff Dart says previously the government stood in the way of this mental health unit and that all changed when Governor Pritzker came into office.

07/11/19 11:06AM