Gracepoint expected to open mental health hospital for women in Hillsborough County in 2025

TAMPA, Fla. - Hillsborough County's mental health provider, Gracepoint, is opening a mental health hospital that is geared towards women, which they believe to be the first of its kind in the nation.

"One time a person came in, she had been actually a victim of sex trafficking, and she had a baby during the process," said Joann Ford, a mental health nurse practitioner.

Ford is used to women in crises telling her that they've been victims of sex assault or of domestic violence. Gracepoint administrators said women are three times as likely to attempt suicide, with 18% reporting they've experienced trauma, compared to 3% of men. 

READ: Pinellas County introduces new program aimed at connecting residents with mental health providers

Gracepoint has broken ground on a new 60,000 square foot hospital that will have 30 beds for women only.

"The inpatient units right now are coed," said Ford. "And if somebody has been a victim of some type of trauma or abuse and the victimizer is a male, then that could be adding to the trauma."

That in itself is important to have a separate space for women where they feel comfortable.

Administrators at Gracepoint have been dreaming of a women's only facility for decades, but it will only take them a short time to know if it's successful.

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"Seeing the women come out of here, and they have a smile on their face, and they say, 'I'm good now,'" said Gracepoint CEO Roaya Tyson. "Seeing them employed. Seeing them with families, seeing them with housing, those kinds of things are going to make it all worthwhile."

The new hospital will provide 24/7 assessments, individual and group therapy and even incorporate yoga and meditation. The goal is to not only help women, but fill a shortage of services being felt across the region and state. 

With women being five times as likely to become a victim of sex abuse, Gracepoint said it's time to treat women's mental health as a specialized problem.

The hope is to have the new Mariposa Behavioral Health Hospital open by the end of 2025.

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