Back in 1990, Drs. Puskoor Kumar, Kishore Sankara and Raju Indukuri worked at Willow Creek Hospital in Arlington, caring for psychiatric patients. The hospital closed in 1999 and became a church. In 2005 the three physicians started their own facility, the Sundance Hospital, to serve psychiatric outpatients in Fort Worth. In 2010, when their previous space in Arlington became available again, the doctors saw a dire need for in-patient psychiatric services in Tarrant County and jumped on the opportunity to buy the space.
"The Willow Creek Hospital closed in 1999 because of decreased reimbursement for psychiatric services by insurance companies,' said Dr. Indukuri. "Seeing the lack of beds in Tarrant County since then, the three of us decided to open the Sundance Hospital in Arlington.'
Last week, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the development plan of the property to allow for a 24,000 square-foot expansion. The building is currently 44,000 square feet and once construction is completed, the hospital will have room for a total of 116 beds. The expansion should be complete by June 2013.
"Before we bought the hospital, we talked to the mayor, and he was very supportive,' said Dr. Indukuri. "Sundance Hospital opened its doors in Arlington in January of 2011. We have 150 employees working there. We see a need for more services, for more children and adults and substance abuse/addition patients,' said Indukuri.
Dr. Indukuri says the expansion is necessary because he often has to send patients to Denton or Dallas County for in-patient service, which is a long distance for young children and those in desperate need of care. The doctors hope that with this larger facility, they will be able to serve more psychiatric patients in Arlington and Tarrant County.
"It's great that Sundance Hospital was able to use the existing facility, originally designed for a hospital, and bring back tax base to the City,' said Gincy Thoppil, Planning Manager for the City. "This expansion further provides service to the entire county, adds more number of employees, and fits perfectly well in the 30-acre site.'
The hospital is located at 7000 US Hwy 287 S in Arlington. For more information on the psychiatric hospital, please visit www.sundancehealthcare.com.
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