Winnebago Mental Health Institute: Patients and Services

Winnebago Mental Health Institute offers services that help people with mental health needs.

Where to get help

At our facility, we don’t take walk-ins. This means you cannot check in without a referral. If you need help, either:

• Call a crisis line or helpline for help with a stressful event.
• Call 911 if you are in danger.

Our patients

Patients come to us based on a referral from county health and human services agencies and the court system. We cannot admit people who show up at our doors without a referral. We have two types of patients:

• Civil patients—These are patients who are ordered to get psychiatric assessments and treatment at a mental health facility. Patients are inpatient, which means they check in and stay for a period of time. This process happens through emergency detention and commitment proceedings.
• Forensic patients—These are patients who a court orders to get either:
  • A mental health competency evaluation—Looks at a patient’s mental health. Confirms how much they remember or know about their criminal charges.
  • Treatment to competency services—Care for a patient who a court finds unable to go to trial due to a mental health condition. Treats the patient to restore mental health.
  • Treatment for mental illness—Care for a patient found not guilty of a crime because of mental illness.

Types of care units

Winnebago Mental Health Institute has seven patient care units that offer different services:

• Choices—Forensic unit in Gordon Hall
  • Helps prepare patients to get back in the community
  • Includes work programs
  • Treats long-term patients, male and female, who need general psychiatric care
  • Has minimum security
• Gemini—Civil admission, assessment, and treatment unit in Gordon Hall
  • Helps patients return home to their community
  • Uses an intensive treatment program
  • Can treat men and women dually diagnosed with a mental illness and substance use issues
  • Has minimum security
• Petersik Hall South—Admission, assessment, and treatment unit
  • Has both men and women patients
  • Has medium security
• Petersik Hall North—Admission, assessment, and treatment unit
  • Has both men and women patients
  • Has medium security
• Sherman Hall North and South—Civil units
  • Helps patients manage symptoms
  • Includes patients who are checked in to get a psychiatric assessment, stabilize or manage medicine, and get treatment
  • Treats both men and women
  • Has minimum security
• Youth Services Unit—Civil assessment and treatment unit in Sherman Hall
  • Helps kids and teens with:
    • Psychiatric disorders.
    • Behavioral disorders.
    • Developmental disabilities.
    • Dually diagnosed mental health and substance use issues.
  • Works with the patient, their family, and staff from the county where the patient lives
  • Uses one-on-one and group treatment
  • Offers short-term treatment options that focus on getting back in the community
  • Has a male wing and female wing
• Waterwood School—For patients who need K–12 education services