RAPID CITY, SD — On Wednesday, representatives and staff from now-statewide mental health service provider MWI opened its doors in Rapid City to colleagues and the public in an inaugural ribbon cutting attended by Mayor Jason Salamun, a representative from the Governor’s Office Of Economic Development and representatives from Elevate Rapid City.
The facility which sits in Suite G of the complex at 2620 Jackson Boulevard stands as the fruition of a long-time goal by its founder, Dr. Clay Pavlis, who is Psychiatrist at MWI who said on its founding “I felt that different needed to happen: I was in a big hospital system, I came out of residency and was disillusioned by the idea that I was just going to do that the next several decades of my life, and I felt that I could be part of the change. I felt that we could do things differently. It didn’t have to be top heavy. We could make decisions at local level and a one on one level”. This change comes in the form of expanding coverage for as many types of insurance as possible, allowing for shorter wait times and more incoming patients, and providing new treatment options for those who have not seen results from conventional treatment.
Business Development Representative Eric TeSlaa was excited to talk about these expanding options for mental healthcare in Rapid City, and showed a deep empathy, drawn from experience, with those suffering Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD).
According to TeSlaa, MWI has effectively utilized Spravato (Esketamine, an FDA approved treatment) in treatment in Sioux Falls, and has attested to personally receiving this treatment to aid with his own Depression. “Not only have I not had suicidal ideation since being on it, it also has helped me work through with my therapist– there’s times that I found in therapy where I have some trauma, and my defense response comes up, and it kind of shuts me down without me even knowing I’m doing it,” said TeSlaa, who confirmed that this same treatment was expected to be available in Rapid City within the next few weeks, and that such treatment was monitored by staff nurses in order to ensure patient safety.
“it’s a blessing to just be in the ‘helping-people’ world”, said TeSlaa.