Fairbanks Memorial Hospital gets $3 million federal grant for adolescent psychiatric unit

Teenagers in Interior Alaska who need inpatient psychiatric care may one day get it close to home. Right now, they must leave the region entirely.

The Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded $3 million to the Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation to build an adolescent behavioral health unit at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, according to the federal award record.

A second HRSA grant, $1.95 million to Alaska Behavioral Health, will add six private resident rooms to its Tamarack residential treatment facility in Fairbanks. The two awards total $4.95 million.

"There are no adolescent inpatient behavioral health care facilities for children in Northern and Interior Alaska," Shelley Ebenal, chief executive of Foundation Health Partners, said in a state capital-project request. The federal award notes that patients in the region often must travel long distances for care.

Foundation Health Partners began a community fundraising effort for adolescent beds in 2024. The Alaska Department of Health approved the hospital's Certificate of Need in a notice published Jan. 22, 2026. The 30-day window to request a hearing on that approval has closed.

The new unit will hold four beds, according to the state approval notice. The project also converts two general adult psychiatric beds into higher-acuity beds inside the existing 20-bed adult unit. The service area covers the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Denali Borough, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.

Crews will rework about 9,418 square feet of the current adult unit and nearby offices at 1650 Cowles Street. The building footprint will not grow. Plans call for ligature-resistant fixtures, anti-barricade systems and tamper-resistant elements, along with mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection upgrades. A design-build approach is meant to limit disruption to hospital operations.

The state puts the total estimated cost at $6.2 million. The federal grant covers just under half. A separate state funding request sought $3.7 million.

The records do not agree on timing. The federal award says construction begins in 2026 and finishes by early 2028. The state approval listed December 2026 as the estimated completion date. The grant period runs Sept. 30, 2026, through Sept. 29, 2029.