MILES CITY — Custer County leaders are making their case for why a proposed state mental hospital should be built in Miles City, citing available space, workforce capacity and strategic location advantages.
The push comes as the state evaluates potential locations for the new $26.2 million facility in eastern Montana.
County Commissioner Jeff Faycosh said Miles City offers ideal conditions for the project.
“The state already owns 500 acres here. It just makes perfect sense to put a state facility on state land. There's water and sewer, and it's close proximity to the interstate, downtown amenities,” Faycosh said Tuesday.
Watch what Custer County is saying about a proposed state mental hospital going to Miles City:
The proposed site would be placed behind the Pine Hills Correctional Facility, which houses youth offenders.
Greg Haydal, a Miles City resident of four decades, supports bringing the mental hospital to the community despite potential concerns from neighbors.
“I think there's definitely a need for it, you know, people have to sacrifice a little bit for their overall good. I think you got to do what you got to do,” Haydal said.
Haydal acknowledged the stigma that can surround mental health facilities but emphasized the broader benefits.
“I understand some of the stigma that comes along with mental health and facilities and neighbors or having them neighbor you. But I think overall for the greater good of the community or the state, I guess, especially that there's definitely a need for it,” Haydal said.
Beyond the jobs at the hospital, Faycosh said the facility could also bring people back to Miles City for medical jobs.
“There are people looking for work close to home. A lot of our people in the area do traveling medical to other locations. And we have people coming in to work at our other medical facilities from outside the area. So obviously, there's a draw of Miles City to the medical profession,” Faycosh said.
The commissioner also highlighted potential benefits for the criminal justice system, particularly regarding forensic behavioral health assessments.
“That'll help us in the criminal justice system to provide timely assessments of these people and either get them adjudicated in court or committed similarly for their mental health problems,” Faycosh said.
The Montana Legislature approved the project, Montana's second mental-health hospital, this session, citing a growing need for services in rural areas. However, lawmakers did not dictate where the facility will be built, leaving a scramble of local communities either courting the development or telling the state to look elsewhere.
Other communities, including Big Horn and Stillwater counties, have said they're interested. Billings was identified as a good location for the hospital, but local leaders have expressed concern.
