Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital's Behavioral Health Emergency Care Unit to begin serving patients Jan. 5, 2026, thanks to $9.1M state grant

Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital recently celebrated the opening of its new Behavioral Health Emergency Care Unit with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The $9.1 million specialized unit, designed to provide rapid stabilization and treatment for patients experiencing behavioral health or substance use crises, will begin serving patients on Jan. 5, 2026.

The specialty unit was funded as part of $45.5 million in grants statewide from the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Thirteen hospitals – including Prisma Health’s Tuomey Hospital and Oconee Memorial Hospital – received funding through the agency’s new behavioral health crisis stabilization grant program. The innovative program speeds care and reduces unnecessary hospital psychiatric admissions by creating safe, therapeutic and supportive environments where conditions can be stabilized so patients can more quickly return home or to a more appropriate care setting. 

“Behavioral health issues affect every family. This Behavioral Health Emergency Care unit is a huge leap forward in Tuomey Hospital’s ability to quickly assess behavioral health patients and provide intensive care if needed,” said Jennifer Montgomery, CEO, Prisma Health Midlands Market. “It will touch the lives of so many people in our community and provide treatments and services that were not previously available. Of course, we could not have done this without support from our community and state leaders.”

Montgomery thanked S.C. House of Representatives Speaker Murrell Smith, the State General Assembly and SCDHHS for their vision and support of these units statewide.

“Their support has made not only this project possible, but others like it throughout our state,” she said.

“Access to rapid crisis stabilization health care services is critical for the well-being of our communities,” said S.C. Speaker of the House of Representatives Murrell Smith. “This new partnership with Tuomey Hospital will ensure patients receive the care they need when they need it and in the appropriate setting. I am grateful this new unit will allow us to serve those needs right here in Sumter.”

"Thanks to Speaker Murrell Smith who champions and is a relentless advocate for funding mental health resources in South Carolina. The Behavioral Health Emergency Care Units across the state and here at Tuomey Hospital are a testament to his continued commitment to expand specialized services that provide rapid stabilization for patients in crisis. I’m also grateful for our incredible, compassionate team who helped envision this and who care for patients in their most vulnerable times,” said Dr. Meera Narasimhan, professor and chair, Department of Psychiatry at Prisma Health.

The BHEC is a 16-patient unit adjoining Tuomey’s Emergency Department, offering a secure and separate space for behavioral health care. It can accommodate 11 adults and four pediatric patients simultaneously and will operate 24/7, year-round. The new unit builds on Tuomey Hospital’s recently expanded Emergency Department, which was completed earlier this year to enhance access and capacity for emergency care in Sumter and surrounding communities.

Behavioral health providers will work alongside emergency medicine teams to stabilize patients quickly. Care managers and, for the first time, peer recovery coaches will help connect patients to ongoing services. Following evaluation, patients may be discharged home or transferred to an inpatient behavioral health facility for longer-term care.

Tuomey Hospital averages 300 behavioral health visits per month, with approximately 20% pediatric and 80% adult patients.