Beaumont Health and Universal Health Services broke ground on a new mental health hospital in Dearborn, Mich., the not-for-profit and for-profit health systems announced Monday.
Construction is slated to start in early 2020 on the $40 million, 150-bed hospital that will double Beaumont's inpatient mental health capacity. The 100,000-square-foot facility, which includes substance use disorder treatment and an integrated assessment and referral center, will open by mid-2021.
"Our mental health plans extend beyond the walls of the new facility. The new hospital will help us coordinate the entire continuum of services for comprehensive inpatient and outpatient mental health care, clinical training and innovative new approaches to accessing care," Beaumont Health CEO John Fox said in prepared remarks, adding that the system is ramping up its psychiatry and psychopharmacology training.
The goal, in part, is to boost capacity through the joint venture and integrate mental healthcare into standard treatment protocol. A more holistic approach can stem unnecessary spending and ultimately improve health.
King of Prussia, Pa.-based UHS, which operates more than 200 behavioral health hospitals across the country, will be the majority owner of the joint venture and oversee the day-to-day operations and management of the new mental health facility.
Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont has been scaling up its mental health treatment, particularly for children, as suicide rates surge. In Michigan, suicide rates rose nearly 33% from 1999 to 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last year, the health system opened a new pediatric emergency center, where child life specialists aim to ease anxiety through one-on-one play and other techniques.
"We just need more facilities to care for these children," Dr. Kelly Levasseur, Beaumont's pediatric emergency director, told Modern Healthcare last year. "Not only inpatient, but also outpatient facilities so they can see psychiatrists and so they have another option other than the ED, where there is only so much we can do."
Beaumont plans to transition its current inpatient mental health services to the Dearborn hospital. Meanwhile, Beaumont and UHS are also building a systemwide telemedicine program, executives said.
Beaumont reported $131 million of operating income on $3.49 billion of revenue through the first nine months of the fiscal year, down from $144 million of operating income on $3.39 billion of revenue over the same period prior, according to Modern Healthcare's financial database.
UHS reported $874.9 million of operating income on $8.48 billion of revenue through the first nine months of the fiscal year, down from $915.4 million of operating income on $8.02 billion of revenue over the same period prior, SEC filings show.
