JAMES CITY — Just a month after state, regional and local officials broke ground on a $12.5 million mental health center on the grounds of Eastern State Hospital, another mental health and substance recovery facility may be coming to the county.
The James City County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a special use permit for Haven Health Mental and Substance Abuse Hospital. The hospital will be on 6.1 acres at 1807 Jamestown Road at the site of a former assisted living facility and near Jamestown Health and Rehabilitation.
Haven will serve as a residential facility, treating up to 50 individuals for 30 to 60 day periods. It will provide treatment for various mental health and substance use disorders, including post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, suicidal ideation, alcohol use and opioid use, said Jackie Daniels, Haven’s clinical development director.
The voluntary treatment center will also offer care focused on veterans and active duty military. Daniels said about 269,000 veterans live within a three-hour radius, with an estimated 40% experiencing mental health conditions and 10% dealing with substance use disorders.
“This makes this location a key location for treating our veteran and active duty population and to support the needs of the family members of those veterans in active duty,” Daniels said.
Operating since 2012, parent company Haven Health Management has 23 facilities across the United States, including in Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, Arkansas, Arizona and Massachusetts, with a facility in Puerto Rico coming soon. Each of their facilities are licensed and accredited by The Joint Commission as well as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, said Cheyenne Riker, who is representing Haven Health as general counsel.
The facility will provide trained staff on-site 24/7, including nurses and behavioral health technicians, Riker said. As a residential facility, visitation will not be permitted due to patients focusing on their residential recovery treatment, he said.
“We try and create an environment where they can focus on being treated. They can focus on working on themselves, working through their issues,” Riker said.
The applicant requested up to three years to begin operations, but so far, there is no clear timeline for when the hospital will open. The site, formerly New Dawn Senior Memory Care, was purchased by Haven Health Management within the past year.
In September, officials broke ground on Colonial Behavioral Health’s Center for Support & Wellness, a 14,000-square-foot facility being built on the grounds of Eastern State Hospital thanks to a state grant. At the time, the 24-bed center was billed as the only one of its kind between the Richmond area and Hampton. It’s expected to be completed in September 2026.
On Tuesday, Supervisor Barbara Null voiced support for the Haven Health facility, saying the county needs it badly.
For more information on Haven Health Management, visit havenhealthmgmt.org.
James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/17/james-city-county-green-lights-new-mental-health-facility/
