Katie Blessing Center To Set A New Standard For North Carolina As The State’s Largest And Most Advanced Youth Behavioral Health Hospital

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –  Today, Starmount Healthcare Management proudly unveils plans for Katie Blessing Center, a new pediatric and adolescent behavioral health hospital focusing on individualized, comprehensive care for children ages 5 – 18. Located in East Charlotte at 5516 Central Avenue, this “unicorn” wellness center is set to open its first phase of services in early 2025. More information: katieblessingcenter.org.

Over time, parent company Starmount has responded to the varying needs of the community; they are most known for their StarMed Healthcare work during the COVID-19 pandemic, where they were compelled to expand efforts to manage over 5,000 events across 40 North Carolina counties and distribute more than 2 million vaccines, tests, and monoclonal antibody treatments to local and regional citizens. Through Katie Blessing Center, named after Founder Michael Estramonte’s mother, Katie Blessing, whose passion was taking care of children, the company’s current efforts lie in confronting the pediatric mental health crisis that affects one in four youths and addressing the alarming gap between kids diagnosed with an emotional, behavioral or mental disorder and those who receive help (only 20%) as North Carolina ranks almost last in access to quality psychiatric care.

At 70,000 square feet, the state-of-the-art Katie Blessing Center facility will break existing social stigmas around psychiatric centers with a thoughtful, modern and bright design that promotes healing and growth through a diverse set of services across its welcoming spaces, including therapy rooms, group activity areas, neighborhood-inspired hallways, an indoor gym, education and tutoring center, art and music room, salon and barbershop, extensive outdoor spaces with walkways, animal therapy and more. On the city’s east side, the five-acre property was sold to the organization in early 2023 after a unanimous vote by the City of Charlotte. Project partners include Little Architecture, JE Dunn Construction & Marand Builders Inc., and Human eXperience.

Katie Blessing Center will take a wraparound approach offering services not seen on the same site anywhere else in the state:

10-12 chair Behavioral Health Urgent Care (BHUC)
72 beds across residential, short term and other neighborhoods
Acute Inpatient and Facility Based Crisis Units (FBC)
Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF)
Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
Outpatient services
Partial hospitalization program (PHP)
Innovative and non-traditional therapies
Telehealth

“This is a giant undertaking and because behavioral healthcare often lacks the proper funding, in addition to $20 million we’ve committed and $17.5 million received in state funding, we still need to raise at least $25 million to complete the build-out of the facility,” said Estramonte. “We’re calling on the community to share our sense of urgency and responsibility to make this vision a reality because our kids deserve it. There are several ways to get involved from capital investment and naming opportunities to one-time donations to various sponsorship opportunities that support the development of different amenities within the center. Together, we can build a world where behavioral health disorders no longer define lives.”

In collaboration with Atrium Health’s Behavioral Health Service Line team, the center has contracted Dr. Rabiya Hasan, MD of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry to serve as the interim Medical Director during the planning, design and establishment of operation protocols for the facility.

“Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among children. Even more heartbreaking, jail is quickly becoming an alternative to treatment for children experiencing mental health issues. Children are currently forced to leave our community to seek treatment,” said Martha Whitecotton, retired Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health Services at Atrium Health and Katie Blessing Center board member. Katie Blessing Center is designed to change these statistics for our community by providing accessible, effective treatment options close to home. Innovative in program design, care will be integrated across the treatment team, family, school, and community support networks.”

To deliver the best care possible while also protecting staff from the burnout often associated with intensive healthcare workplaces, operations will call for 300 jobs offering competitive pay, benefits and specialized roles. The organization is now accepting applications and interested parties can apply at katieblessingcenter.org/talent.

More updates to come. To learn more about investment opportunities or to donate, visit katieblessingcenter.org.