McKay Dee Behavioral Institute of Medicine closes, but memories remain
Decorated tiles line the ceiling at the former location of the Summit Day Treatment facility at the Mckay-Dee Institute for Behavioral Medicine in Ogden on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. Teens who completed the treatment program over the last several years had the option of decorating a tile. After the facility moved this fall, hospital staff began offering the tiles to the former patients. (BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner)
Decorated tiles line the ceiling at the former location of the Summit Day Treatment facility at the Mckay-Dee Institute for Behavioral Medicine in Ogden on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. Teens who completed the treatment program over the last several years had the option of decorating a tile. After the facility moved this fall, hospital staff began offering the tiles to the former patients. (BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner)
Decorated tiles line the ceiling at the former location of the Summit Day Treatment facility at the Mckay-Dee Institute for Behavioral Medicine in Ogden on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. Teens who completed the treatment program over the last several years had the option of decorating a tile. After the facility moved this fall, hospital staff began offering the tiles to the former patients. (BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner)
OGDEN — The people are gone, the furniture has been hauled away, but memories of more than 200 adolescents who were treated remain at the closed McKay-Dee Behavioral Institute of Medicine.
Brightly painted ceiling tiles featuring declarations by teens who graduated from Summit Day Treatment Center, one of the programs at the Institute, still dominate the hallways. After graduating from the program, the kids were given the opportunity to paint one of the large tiles with a message. Some of the sayings included “Life is hard I can do it,” “We all have our horrors and our demons to fight,” “Worrying solves nothing,” “Let yourself bloom,” “Nothin’s bigger than a dream,” and “There’s always someone who cares.”
The program was introduced 13 years ago at the Behavioral Institute of Medicine after a need was seen to continue treating adolescents who had been cared for on an inpatient basis, said Heather Garrett, McKay-Dee Hospital nurse manager over pediatric behavioral health services.
“These are kids who are struggling academically and don’t quite find their place in school with their peers,” she said. “Many of them are depressed, suicidal or bullied. Being in this program allows them to be involved in family, recreational, individual and group therapy while continuing to get their education.”
The program is still offered through the hospital, but has been relocated inside the Harrison Depot strip mall just east of McKay-Dee, Garrett said. The other programs run at the Institute have also been transitioned, either inside the hospital, at the old hospital location on Harrison Blvd., or on campus at various clinics.
“The inpatient unit is now at the hospital which is great because the kids no longer have to be transported,” Garrett said. “We can treat them in the emergency department and take them straight up to the unit.”
The McKay-Dee Institute for Behavioral Medicine was built in 1987 under the direction of Sue-Ellen MacInnes. At the time, the hospital had more patients than it had room for. When the building opened for business, several programs were implemented as the need arose, including geriatric services, child and adolescent services and drug and alcohol counseling. Now that the building is old and in need of repair, Intermountain Healthcare decided to relocate its services and put the building up for sale, Garrett said.
“We would really like for the kids who want them to come and pick up their tiles,” she said. “The program has really saved a lot of lives and has helped many of these kids get back on track. We would really like for them to have their tile as a keepsake if they wish to have it.”
Garrett can be reached at 801-387-4941.