At the WellPower we know that people can and do recover from mental illness. Our new Recovery Center is one of our commitments to that vision and is located in Denver, Colorado on a plot of land that has been home to mental health services for more than 100 years. In 1905, a private psychiatric hospital was open on this property in the Bellevue-Hale neighborhood which was considered suburban at the time because it was a whole three miles from the bustling downtown Denver. In 1952, a new building was constructed and became the Mount Airy Psychiatric Hospital. In 1989 the University of Colorado purchased the property and it became their primary teaching site for physicians training in psychiatry and for research in the field. I completed my training as a psychiatrist in this facility and taught both medical students and psychiatric residents here. Many Denver psychiatrists worked, trained or taught in one of these facilities. The good citizens of the Bellevue-Hale neighborhood have long supported having a place in their community where people dealing with mental illness could get the help they needed. At the end of 2010, the WellPower purchased the facility and worked with Davis Partnership Architects of Denver to redesign the facility to support the contemporary treatment approaches that help people recover from mental illness.

Many of the design features at The Recovery Center underscore the advancements and change of attitude in mental health today.  Most noticeably, the central stairwell was glassed in to bring bright sunlight into the building, which gives a feeling of hope when you enter. We wanted the building to generate a feeling that this is a place where you can recover. And because The Recovery Center is the first facility where the building was designed with how we provide treatment in mind, numerous features will help us operate more smoothly and provide more comprehensive care.  For example, computer kiosks are available on each clinic floor where people can access their electronic medical record. We have a primary care wing, a pharmacy, supportive housing and supportive employment. The feedback we are getting from the people we see is that they like being able to get all of the services that support their recovery in one place. Statistics have long shown that people with mental illness live significantly shorter lives due to a lack of access to primary health care and we are committed to offering our consumers an integrated health care home where all their needs are met.

The WellPower has long been recognized nationally for our work measuring and tracking how people with mental illness recover.  We are thrilled to have a first rate facility that helps support our mission.  If recovery from mental illness seems like a new concept for you please stay tuned to our website and blog for more on how this happens.