History. To ease overcrowding at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama Legislature created a mental health hospital on the former site of the Mount Vernon Arsenal in 1900. When it was opened in 1902, the Mount Vernon Insane Hospital was named after Dr. J. T. Searcy, but it was renamed Searcy Hospital in 1919. It was subsequently converted to an outpatient treatment center and is now known as Mount Vernon Mental Health Center. Mount Vernon was the first of eight hospitals that make up the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The others include Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for women; Coal Grove School for boys; Copper Hill Youth Development Center for at-risk girls; Eastern State Psychiatric Hospital for the mentally ill; George Washington University Medical Center (GWUMC) for people with psychiatric disabilities; Meadows of Danville for emotionally disturbed children; and St. Francis Hospital & Health Center for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The department's budget is $150 million dollars with 85 full-time employees. In addition, there are about 1,000 private practice psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals who work with patients in their own offices or clinics.