Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center consists
of two divisions. The first, Choate Mental Health Center,
is a 79 bed civil psychiatric hospital. The Developmental
Center is a 183 bed residential center for individuals with
developmental disabilities. Choate Mental Health Center is
affiliated with the Southern Illinois University School of
Medicine and serves severely and persistently mentally ill
patients from the southern twenty seven counties of Illinois with a
catchment area population of nearly 600,000.


The medical director is
Jagannathan Srinivasaraghavan, M.D.

Most of the psychiatrists working at Choate Mental Health
Center are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry at
SIU. Choate Mental Health Center is a major training
center for southern Illinois serving in the education and
training of medical students, electives in Rural Psychiatry
and optional rotation for residents. In addition, students
and interns in nursing, social work, psychology, pharmacy
and rehabilitation are regularly trained at the hospital. There are two adult
units and one child and adolescent unit serving both men and women of all
age groups. Excellent continuity of care is provided with the sixteen
community mental health centers. Some of the psychiatrists primarily
working at the community mental health centers are adjunct faculty members
in the Department of Psychiatry.