Chesapeake Regional Healthcare celebrates new milestone with Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit ribbon-cutting

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Today is another important day in the support of behavioral health patients in Hampton Roads. Chesapeake Regional Healthcare unveiled a new Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit, located on the sixth floor of Chesapeake Regional Medical Center.

The new Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit is an 11,200 square foot therapeutic space designed to promote patient recovery. It has 20 private rooms for adult patients, two activity rooms, a quiet room, a group therapy room and a sensory room. 

The program is vital to the community, and the opening of this unit is part of Chesapeake Regional’s comprehensive strategy to bring these much-needed resources to south Hampton Roads.

Judge Robert G. MacDonald echoed this statement. “I stand here before you today as someone who has witnessed first-hand the desperate need for what we celebrate today…Today we cut the ribbon, not just on a facility, but on a lifeline.”

Psychiatrist and Chesapeake City Council Member Patricia King agreed. “Today is about the unveiling of a new attitude about mental health - and the unveiling of a new and resounding commitment to the mental health of this community, our neighbors, friends, and colleagues who suffer from mental illness.”

Creating a Behavioral Health program to serve the citizens of Chesapeake allows patients to receive treatment closer to home, rather than elsewhere in the state. This keeps support systems intact, leading to a more effective continuum of care. 

Support from the local, regional and federal government has been a critical part of making the new facility come to life. 

“This is money well spent because it is saving lives,” Commissioner Nelson Smith of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services said. “When people come here, they [will be] too broken to hold their hope. They are going to come through these doors and give their hope to your people. And your people are going to hold that hope until they can get well enough - so you can give it back to them, and they can go back to their community. This is a place of hope and healing.”

Delegate Cliff Hayes Jr. expressed his appreciation of Chesapeake Regional’s contributions to the community. “[Chesapeake Regional Healthcare] hears concerns of the community and responds. I am very appreciative…of the difference this hospital makes.”

The new inpatient Behavioral Health Unit will open for patients in March 2026. This ribbon cutting follows the opening of Chesapeake Regional’s Emergency Department Behavioral Health Unit in mid-2025. 

About Chesapeake Regional Healthcare
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare is a health system laser-focused on innovation, known for making medical history in the region and providing patients with truly personal care. Its hospital, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, is the only independent, community-based acute care facility in Hampton Roads, created by the General Assembly in response to citizens' healthcare needs. With more than 600 physicians and over 75 specialties across 50 locations, the hospital treats the most stroke patients and has the best heart attack survival rates in the region. It has an open-heart program, advanced cancer care, and the area's most preferred Labor & Delivery program. With a nationally accredited Chest Pain Center, Magnet Recognition for Nursing Excellence, and 5-star ratings from Healthgrades, Chesapeake Regional delivers technologically advanced health care that saves lives every day. Learn more at ChesapeakeRegional.com.