History
On February 27, 1974, Montgomery County Commissioners A. Russell Parkhouse, Frank W. Jenkins and Lawrence H. Curry officially opened Montgomery County MH-MR Emergency Service as a 24-hour mental health, drug and alcohol emergency service facility. This was the beginning of MCES.
The commissioners made the move to open MCES after being encouraged by the success Montgomery County MH-MR Emergency Service and Eagleville Hospital had treating individuals suffering from mental illness or drug addiction who would have otherwise been jailed.
MCES was originally located in Building 16 on the grounds of Norristown State Hospital. It was headed by Dr. Angelo Zosa, a specialist in neurology and psychiatry, who was joined by Frederick Forte, a former combat medic in Vietnam and drug and alcohol abuse coordinator.
More than 35 years later, MCES has grown into a private, 73-bed psychiatric hospital that is a nationally-recognized provider of comprehensive behavioral health services.