South Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center (SFETC) recently celebrated its Ribbon Cutting and Open House festivities to mark the opening of its new, state of the art, 213 bed Forensic psychiatric facility in Florida City, Florida.

SFETC is run in partnership with the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) and treats primarily individuals deemed incompetent to proceed to trial or not guilty by reason of insanity.

The main mission of this facility is to provide quality mental health services to patients in order to fulfill our belief that everyone who suffers from a mental illness can recover and eventually lead a full and productive life in the community. These services are provided using the latest technology and treatment models with a comprehensive and multidisciplinary treatment approach that integrates a variety of therapies and services designed to maximize improvement.

(l-r) Dale Frick, Vice President Project Development & Client Relations, GEO Care; Jerome Williams, President Elect, Homestead/Florida City Chamber of Commerce; Gary Thompson, Department of Children & Families; Silvia Quintana, District Program Supervisor, Department of Children & Families; Dr. George Zoley, Chairman, CEO & Founder, The GEO Group; Lee Packer, Hospital Administrator, South Florida Evaluation & Treatment Center; Thomas M. Wierdsman, Senior Vice President, Project Development, The GEO Group; and Jorge Dominicis, Senior Vice President Residential Treatment Services The GEO Group and President GEO Care, Inc.

This project had been in the works for several years. SFETC was originally built as a state run facility near downtown Miami. The State of Florida has asked GEO Care, Inc., Inc. (ASH), to manage and build a new SFETC dedicated to enhancing the already high level of patient care. GEO Care Inc, a subsidiary of The GEO Group based in Boca Raton, Florida, a leading provider of outsourced mental health services to government agencies around the obtained a contract for running the facility in 2006 and also negotiated a partnership with the department for construction of a new building to replace the aging downtown Miami facility. Construction was broken in 2005 with Hensel Phelps Construction Company managing the project. Construction was completed on schedule and facility turned over for operations as anticipated.

The facility has over 20,000 square feet of space with individual private rooms for 238 patients along with dedicated program and classroom space, a state of the art medical infirmary, chapel, library, gymnasium, and a variety of support space.

In keeping with commitments made at its inception, it has continued recruitment of staff and vendors from the surrounding neighborhoods. Emphasis is placed on recruitment of bilingual and multi-cultural staff to serve the diverse needs of the individuals served.

This facility has relationships with local universities and colleges to provide training opportunities, internships and residencies in various mental health professions. A contract with the University of Miami provides clinical consultation, training and educational development of the clinical staff. The facility is also a member of APPIC (Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers).