ROCHESTER, Minn. -
It's a new beginning for Fernbrook Family Center in Olmsted County. The agency hopes to use its state-of-the-art facility to de-stigmatize mental illness.
Dr. Tali Ogniewicz is an intern with Fernbrook and says this grand opening will give people the chance to know there are safe, reliable places to go if you are in need of help.
"Having more facilities that are open," Dr. Ogniewicz said. "We know our mental health facilities will help people realize there is treatment out there and they can access it."
Ogniewicz says honesty is the key to battling mental health problems.
"The more we talk about substance use problems, the more we talk about mental health problems, the more we realize that everyone is affected somehow whether it's directly or indirectly," Ogniewicz said. "Really we just need to talk about it more and more."
The new facility has 15 rooms and will serve between 800 and a thousand patients.