The physician-owned Sundance Behavioral Hospitals focus on helping individuals lead quality, productive lives, serving the communities in which they are located and helping to reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues.
“Sometimes we just need a little help or guidance to help us work through what we are experiencing,” CEO Brandy Hart said. “It’s not a negative thing for people to seek help. It takes courage and strength to identify when you need help and seek it out.”
Hart believes that if the stigma is removed, people will be more likely to seek help and that will lead to a better quality of life for both the patients and their families because the negativity of a family member or friend carries over to those around him/her. Additionally, if an individual seeks help, others will see that and be more likely to follow suit.
“We’ll pass that on and it will become a culture of acceptance where it’s OK to ask for help,” Hart said.
The organization’s founders, Dr. Raju Indukuri, Dr. Puskoor Kumar and Dr. Kishore Sunkara, started with an outpatient care center in Fort Worth eight years ago and it now includes hospitals in Arlington and Garland.
The 116-bed Arlington hospital opened in 2011 and the Garland location, also a 116-bed facility, opened in January at the former site of Garland Community Hospital.
One of the reasons for choosing Garland was the city’s growth as well as growth in surrounding communities like Sachse, Rowlett and Rockwall.
The hospitals offer free, confidential assessments to determine the needs of each individual. Licensed therapists visit with the individual about their problems and help them decide what service is needed.
Some might need to be admitted while others need a day treatment program where they return to their regular lives in the evening. Additionally, some might only need therapy and Sundance can help them find the appropriate counselor.
“That’s why it’s important for us to partner with other providers in the community such as Galaxy Counseling Center.”
They also partner with other organizations including Garland ISD and help train the district’s staff to identify students that need help.
When the company’s representatives were seeking City Council approval to open the facility there were some objections to the location because of its proximity to residential areas. Neighbors were concerned about security.
According to Hart, none of the types of incidents that the neighbors feared have come to pass.
“We’re afraid of what we don’t understand. Mental health patients are unique when compared to a medical hospital but those who struggle with mental health issues are no different than everyone else,” she said. “We’ve all experienced crises and it is our job is to help individuals work through that. We have a very strong relationship with the Garland Police Department. When they encounter individuals in the community who need our services, they bring them here for assessment if it’s appropriate.”
There are preconceived notions based on what people see in movies, but those portrayals do not depict real mental health hospitals.. It is simply individuals in a crisis who need counseling to work through their issues.
Many of the kids’ issues involve bullying.
“Bullying isn’t something that’s new. We can all look back on our childhood and remember those we would consider bullies. But we’ve taken a great interest in the impact bullying has on our personal development and how we perceive ourselves,” Hart said. “We see a lot of children who experience bullying and it negatively impacts their self-image and their desire to be successful.”
The key is to focus on empowering the one who is being bullied and build them up and ensure that they understand that they have value.
Sundance works with children five and over, adolescents and adults of all ages. They will soon begin a separate program for seniors.
For more information, visit http://sunbhc.com/dallas/.