Love inspired a Tamaqua family to donate their homes for a mental health center.
Schuylkill County has the state’s fifth highest suicide rate, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Karen Bensinger and her mother, Margaret Zimmerman, wanted to make a difference by opening their homes to the community.
“We had always said for years, my mom and I, we almost couldn’t imagine anyone living in those houses, because so much of our history was tied to it. Y’know, this was multi-generations of homes that we’ve grown up in and raised our kids,” said Bensinger. “And the idea of a renter or somebody being in it and not taking care of it and not loving it…we almost said like, we’d rather it just not be there. And we had the idea, [we’d be more comfortable] if it was made into something else.”
They tried to make the homes into boarding houses for traveling doctors; the local arts center once used Bensinger’s home as an escape room for a fundraising event – its uses bounced around until St. Luke’s called them up.
They wanted to build a psychiatric center in the middle of Tamaqua – Bensinger was thrilled. She always wanted the land to better someone’s life.
“There’s not one person in this town who doesn’t know somebody who either has a mental illness, had a drug issue…died from that, or [who died by] suicide…We held the highest statistic, we were the highest county for suicide, for decades. Not just [in the] state, but like [in the] country,” said Bensinger.
That’s why St. Luke’s is bringing their new rural psychiatry program to Schuylkill. Najma Khanani says the program speaks for itself: there’s a gap in rural mental health care. And Tamaqua is accessible by two highways and it’s walkable – Khanani said it is ideal for the program. She is one of its directors.
“Really bringing it to a place where it will be easy for people to get to. It will be utilized. And there’s a need,” said Khanani. “So, it’s quite perfect, actually. And we want to be part of a community. So, this location to me sets us in the middle of the community right here.”
The program started two years ago. It sends psychiatry residency students to rural communities for hands-on experience in the field. Khanani said the program teaches doctors how to give back to their communities.
“We also want young doctors to be very encouraged to do work of service, right? So, that starts with training,” said Khanani. “But as a rural psychiatrist, I feel like there’s – you’re fulfilling a need, you’re practicing your art and science, and you’re going to a population that needs you the most.”
Khanani’s residents are in their second year of training. They’ll train under an experienced doctor for the next two years. And she hopes they will fall in love with Tamaqua, and plant roots to continue serving the local community.
Karen Bensinger is optimistic about Tamaqua’s future because of projects like this. She sees her old home as her community’s newest hope.
“People used to always say, ‘Well, y’know you’re in the coal country, in Tamaqua, if there’s a bar and there’s a church on every corner,’ right? And so now we can say, ‘there’s a St. Luke’s on every corner in Tamaqua,’” said Bensinger. “And that’s a good thing, because we’re moving in the right direction and can address the issues that are underlying [Tamaqua’s] drug problems and our mental health. We can have a place where people can have access to [healthcare] in a way we’ve never had before.”
St. Luke’s plans to open their Schuylkill psychiatric center this fall, according to staff.
