DALLAS, TX – State Representative Toni Rose (D-Dallas) joined Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Senator Royce West, Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC) Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth, Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern Medical Center, and leaders from Children’s Health yesterday for the dedication and ribbon cutting of the Texas Behavioral Health Center — the Dallas-Fort Worth region’s first state behavioral health hospital.
The state of the art facility will provide 292 beds for adults and children, representing a major expansion of inpatient psychiatric capacity in North Texas. The facility will include the nation’s largest pediatric in-patient psychiatry facility with 92 beds, nearly doubling the Texas’s current pediatric capacity.
Developed through a partnership between the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, UT Southwestern Medical Center, and Children’s Health, the hospital is expected to help address longstanding behavioral health needs across the region.
“The Texas Behavioral Health Center is the culmination of years of planning, advocacy, and investment,” said Rep. Rose. “It will expand access to inpatient mental health services, strengthen our healthcare infrastructure, and help ensure that more individuals and families can receive the care they need close to home.
“I am tremendously proud to see what began in committee rooms and budget negotiations become a facility that will serve this community for generations to come.”
Rep. Rose played a leading role in securing state support for the project. Across the 87th and 88th Legislative Sessions, she secured more than $384 million in state funding for the hospital.
She also ensured the state budget for the 2026-2027 biennium included an additional $118 million for hospital operations. Combined with a $261 million investment from Children’s Health for the pediatric wing, the project represents a $763 million commitment to strengthening behavioral healthcare in North Texas.
“For North Texas families who have navigated a behavioral health system stretched far beyond its limits, this facility represents hope,” said Rep. Rose, adding that during her years working as a mental health professional, she saw firsthand what happens when the system fails the people who need it most.
“Those experiences shaped my work in the Legislature and fueled my determination to secure the investment needed to bring this hospital to North Texas,” she continued. “Today, we celebrate what is possible when we refuse to accept a system that leaves people behind.”
The Texas Behavioral Health Center is expected to begin admitting patients in two weeks.
