Harlingen residents against psychiatric expansion to state facility

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Harlingen residents are voicing their distaste regarding the expansion of a state psychiatric facility.

The $120 million project aims to expand the current Rio Grande State Center facility.

50 new bed units in a maximum-security setting would be added to the existing 55-bed units with non-maximum security.

The expansion would offer in-patient psychiatric care for patients who were determined incompetent to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Garner Klien lives near the center and claims patients have escaped in the past.

“We were on vacation in Colorado and made contact with someone here in the house, and we were informed that they tried calling the house and someone estranged had answered, so they found one of these walkers from the center had come over and broken his way into the house and was sitting in the living room playing my guitar," Klein said.

Although the incident was resolved peacefully, he believes having patients linked to criminal cases near homes and schools is dangerous.

Klein and others like Joann Long believed the best thing to do was to find a different location.

“I just think that there are rural areas that can be looked at that Harlingen has, and I think they tend to be looked at and legislature hopefully offers them an opportunity to change their minds," Long said.

HHSC Associate Commissioner of State Hospitals Kristi Karr says there will be maximum security at the facility. Some of the measures include video surveillance, alarms, fencing, electronic monitors and additional staff.

“If by any chance, they were able to elope, we would have additional buffers and additional layer they would have to get to, a secured layer before they can actually elope from the premise," Karr said.

Nancy Klein says they welcome more mental health institutions but the location is a problem.

“The whole problem is the location," Klein said. "The children should be able to go there to learn and not worry about a prisoner escaping as it will happen and that’s why you build prisons in the middle of nowhere.”

State officials say now that they have feedback from the community, they will be taking it back to the capital in Austin for further review.