Fayetteville veterans hospital opens mental-health residence

FAYETTEVILLE — A 20-bed residential treatment facility for veterans with substance abuse, severe post-traumatic stress and other behavioral problems opened Tuesday on the anniversary of the day that sent many of them into harm’s way.

The Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks chose Sept. 11 as the day to celebrate the Leroy Pond Mental Health Residential Program for a reason, said Kelvin Parks, interim system administrator. Many of those the center will treat served in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“They answered that call. Now we will answer their call,” Parks said at the ceremony held in front of the new center. The area not only has rooms for treatment, but a kitchen where patients can cook and, if need be, learn to cook on their own.

The facility will also have meeting rooms where patients can visit with friends and family — a major boost to success in treatment, according to system administrators and veterans interviewed at Tuesday’s event. About 70 people attended the ceremony.

The closest center providing 24-hour treatment for up to 90 days was in Little Rock, 200 miles away, before the Fayetteville facility opened, system spokesman Wanda Shull said. Where veterans in need of care went often depended on which Department of Veterans Affairs facility had a bed available. In a few cases, veterans were sent as far away as Oregon, Shull said. Usual destinations were in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, she said.

The 20-bed facility is at the northwest end of the health care system’s Fayetteville campus. The proximity is a boon for veterans also, Decelle said, because those needing the center’s care frequently have other health issues.

Plans for the 22,352-squarefoot center with an estimated cost of $9.9 million were announced in late 2016. The building stands on a portion of the grounds of the former Leroy Pond Army Reserve Center.

Pond was a lieutenant colonel in World War II, a resident of Fayetteville and graduate of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He first became an officer in the ROTC at the university. Pond commanded a unit in the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. By the time of his death at age 27 in early 1945 he was highly decorated, with awards including the Distinguished Service Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Silver Star medal.