A new chapter of the Psychiatric Research Institute’s involvement in northwest Arkansas began in January with the opening of its new facility in Fayetteville.
Psychiatric Research Institute’s newest offices, located in the first floor of the Stephens Inc. investment banking firm’s building at 3425 North Futrall Drive, are home to psychiatrists Jon Rubenow, D.O., Dorothee Mecum, M.D., Brian Mooney, M.D., and Aaron Carson, M.D. The Psychiatric Research Institute’s Employee Assistance Program, which contracts with a number of businesses to provide their employees, spouses and dependents with assistance in dealing with a variety of concerns, is also in the new location, along with representatives of the AR-Connect program. AR-Connect, a virtual behavioral health clinic staffed by Psychiatric Research Institute personnel, was launched in 2020 in Little Rock.
The Psychiatric Research Institute will also be managing the Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit in Fayetteville, scheduled to reopen this spring. The Northwest Arkansas CSU closed in June 2021 but will begin seeing clients in its original location, 105 N. Mill Avenue, under the leadership of Psychiatric Research Institute’s Lisa Evans, Ph.D. Evans is the director of the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit in Little Rock, which opened in 2018.
Evans has been dividing her time in northwest Arkansas between interviewing potential employees and meeting with local law enforcement officials, who see the CSU as “an option to stop the pipeline for mental illness.”
“With their help, we are going to change the way that the community sees people with mental disorders,” said Evans.
The expanded coverage in northwest Arkansas will provide the area’s residents with comprehensive care as well giving students at UAMS’ Fayetteville campus the opportunity to receive previously unavailable training.
“UAMS Northwest College of Medicine is extremely excited about the upcoming growth of the Psychiatric Research Institute team to contribute to medical education, clinical care and health-care provider wellbeing in this flourishing part of the state,” said Linda Worley, M.D., the college’s associate dean. “We have a longstanding scarce mental health care capacity in northwest Arkansas and this is an important step in responding to a critical need.”
Opening an office in Fayetteville is a natural fit for AR-Connect, which has received a large number of referrals from northwest Arkansas over the past year, according to Kevin Navin, who oversees the Psychiatric Research Institute’s outpatient services.
“The benefits of our new operations in northwest Arkansas is twofold,” said Navin. “It helps to have people in different regions with a better understanding of the community and the services available there. It’s also a great training opportunity, with residents seeing patients in our clinics along with the CSU. It’s a win-win situation”