The South Carolina Department of Mental Health
The South Carolina Department of Mental Health is one of the oldest state-run mental health organizations in the United States. In December of 1821, South Carolina became the second state in the nation (after Virginia) to provide funds for the care and treatment of people with mental illnesses when legislation approved funding to build a state run treatment facility. To this day, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health’s mission remains the same – To support the recovery of people with mental illnesses.
South Carolina has achieved an impressive record in its efforts to meet the needs of its mentally ill citizens, from the establishment of the South Carolina State Hospital nearly 200 years ago, to the beginning of community mental health services in the 1920’s, to the present day comprehensive public mental health care delivery system.
Today, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health provides outpatient mental health services through a network of 16 community mental health centers and associated clinics, serving all 46 counties in the State, and psychiatric hospital services via three hospitals, including one for substance use treatment. In addition to mental health services, the Agency provides long-term care in one community nursing care center and three State veterans’ nursing homes.
The South Carolina Department of Mental Health dedicates itself to providing high quality care and resources for those who live with mental illness. The scope of services across the state is impressive, to say the least, as the department works to build public awareness, improves access to services, and continually evolves to offer an array of mental health services that is the very best in the country.
Click HERE (www.scdmh.org) to learn more at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health’s website.
