Mental health was identified as the top priority in Amery Hospital & Clinic’s most recent Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) with Polk County and other community partners. 
Amery Hospital & Clinic is home to the region’s only inpatient behavioral health program, so has a vital role to play in meeting the community’s mental health needs. 
In 2021, Amery Hospital & Clinic embarked on a project to improve the physical space in its inpatient Behavioral Health unit. The construction:
Creates a more healing space – including a secure, outside patio area – for adults experiencing mental health crisis; 
Enables Amery Hospital & Clinic to better support the mental health needs of the region by offering a private room for every inpatient; 
Updates all spaces according to best practices to create a safe, comfortable environment that enhances healing. 
The new, secure outdoor patio space has not been open long, but it is already having a transformational impact on patients – and the positive effects on mental health of being outdoors are well-documented. Upon experiencing the outdoor space, one of the first patients looked up at the sky, closed her eyes in the sun, and said, “This is just what I needed.” 
Additionally, Amery Hospital & Clinic continues to be a founding partner in the eight-hospital St. Croix Valley / Western Wisconsin collaboration, supporting a pioneering Emergency Department Behavioral Health Televideo Program to assess and refer patients arriving at the emergency department experiencing mental health crisis.