Skip to main content

Congressman Cohen Announces $500,000 for Midtown Mental Health Center

September 3, 2008


“I was very pleased to announce this new award for the Midtown Mental Health Center,” said Congressman Cohen. “Two weeks ago, ABC News reported on the inordinately high infant mortality rate in Memphis, and one of the critical issues examined on that program was alcohol and drug abuse. These monies will go directly towards helping pregnant women and new mothers get treatment and counseling for substance abuse and take the necessary steps to ensure their babies’ health and wellbeing. I am proud for the excellent work being done at the MMHC, and I am glad that HHS is taking steps to address this problem. The infant mortality rate in Memphis is unacceptable to me and to the people of the 9th District, and I will continue to work with local health care providers and professional associations to improve health care for all of our citizens and save precious lives in our city.”

The MMHC is a comprehensive community mental health center serving Memphis and Shelby County. It provides a wide range of services designed to help adults and children achieve emotional health. The MMHC is the oldest institution of its kind in the state, and the successor organization to the Thomas Frank Gailor Psychiatric Hospital and Diagnostic Clinic formed in 1942, which became the University of Tennessee’s Mental Health Center in the early 1970’s. MMHC was created in 1979 as a result of the desire to transition community mental health from a university based service to a community based service. The Midtown Mental Health Center is located at 427 Linden Ave. and can be reached by phone at 901-577-0200.

- 30 -

Contact:
Marilyn Dillihay, Press Secretary, 202-225-3265
Charlie Gerber, Communications Assistant, 202-225-3265

Issues:Health Care