UofL Health – Peace Hospital is a private, nonprofit behavioral health hospital. One of the largest behavior health facilities in the nation, Peace Hospital is known for providing care for children, adolescents and adults. Its Kosair for Kids Children’s Peace Center is the largest and most comprehensive private provider of youth inpatient behavioral health services in the country. The hospital was the nation’s first behavioral health care center to open a retail pharmacist-operated, long-acting injection clinic. The clinic was established to help people adhere to prescribed medications for behavioral health conditions, such as substance use and psychotic disorders.
History
UofL Health – Peace Hospital first began its journey as Our Lady of Peace in the early 1900s. Our Lady of Peace was created from the vision of a small group of nuns from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN). Originally known as Mount St. Agnes Sanitarium, it was built on land purchased in 1913. What started as a ten-patient rest home for the mentally ill has grown to become one of the largest nonprofit psychiatric hospitals in the country.
The new psychiatric facility – named “Our Lady of Peace Hospital” by Mother Anne Sebastian, SCN – opened in 1951. With an active staff of 13 psychiatrists, as well as a consulting staff of various medical and surgical specialties, it had a capacity of over 200 patients.
With the growing success and in order to better serve our community, expansion was necessary for Our Lady of Peace. The Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility was completed in 2009 providing extended residential treatment for children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Youth Female Exceptional Services unit also opened in 2009 and is the only one in the state of Kentucky to offer a behavioral program designed to treat females that display highly aggressive and/ or self-injurious behaviors.
In 2011, Peace for Parents, a series of educational seminars, began providing parents, caregivers or other concerned individuals educational material on how to face challenging issues with children and adolescents.
In 2014, Our Lady of Peace began offering telehealth assessments in most KentuckyOne Health emergency departments 24/7 at no charge, which provided increased access for assessments to patients.
Additions in 2017 included the Long-Acting Injection Clinic, the first pharmacist-operated, long-acting injection clinic at a behavioral health care center in the United States. The clinic’s aim is to have greater patient compliance and access to behavioral health care for those individuals with opioid and alcohol disorders and individuals diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.
Today, UofL Health – Peace Hospital includes 363 licensed beds (261 operating) and is one of the largest behavioral health facilities in the nation. Peace operates a full continuum of behavioral health and substance use services for patients. We are looking forward to celebrating UofL Health – Peace Hospital’s 75th anniversary next year.
