New behavioral health facility to be constructed in Grand Rapids
King of Prussia, PA and Grand Rapids, MI (March 22, 2022) — On March 17, 2022, an administrative law judge upheld an initial decision by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to award CON approval for development of a new behavioral hospital by Universal Health Services (UHS) and Mercy Health. A final CON decision is expected within the next few weeks, which will allow the parties to begin construction.
UHS and Mercy Health, which is a member of Trinity Health, plan to build and operate a new inpatient behavioral health hospital designed to expand access and strengthen care services in West Michigan. The planned facility will accommodate up to 96 beds, including 60 adult beds plus 24 previously approved geriatric beds, and will be located near the Mercy Health Southwest Campus in Byron Center. The hospital will employ approximately 170 full-time and part-time employees, including physicians, nurses, therapists, mental health technicians, administration, dietary and housekeeping personnel.
“Patients and their families are consumers, and consumers today value choice. The new facility will offer more options for inpatient behavioral care,” said Diane Henneman, LCSW, Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health Division of Universal Health Services. “Mercy Health shares our mission to provide patients and their loved ones with high-quality behavioral healthcare, delivered with compassion and respect.”
“We look forward to working with UHS to increase access to inpatient behavioral health options and to pursue the integration and alignment of medical and behavioral health care services in our region,” said Matt Biersack, MD, President of Mercy Health Saint Mary’s. “It’s extremely important that we prioritize solutions for individuals in crisis presenting to local hospitals, including our emergency departments and other referral sources. The new facility will be a receiving site enabling the initiation of appropriate care, faster.”
The new behavioral health hospital will seamlessly tie into a growing network of affiliated behavioral health services in the area, including UHS-operated Forest View Hospital and Mercy Health's new partnership with Network180 to open a Behavioral Health Crisis Center for the rapid availability of assessment services on a walk-in basis. Further, the facility will offer an additional provider and patient choice in the market, specifically at an easily accessible location south of Grand Rapids.
About Mercy Health
Mercy Health, a member of Trinity Health, is a regional, multi-campus, Catholic health care system serving West Michigan and the lakeshore with 3 hospital campuses, 736 hospital beds, and more than 8,000 colleagues, as well as hospice, home health and long-term care service offerings. Mercy Health has annual operating revenues of about $1.4 billion and returns about $80 million to its communities annually through charity care and community benefit programs. Mercy Health Physician Partners, a multi-specialty medical group, employs more than 960 physicians and advanced practice professionals in more than 80 physician offices in Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Holland and along the West Michigan lakeshore. Mercy Health is committed to being a trusted health partner for life, transforming the communities we serve, by providing high-quality care that is the most accessible, compassionate and personalized in West Michigan. Visit us at MercyHealth.com.
About Universal Health Services
One of the nation’s largest and most respected providers of hospital and healthcare services, Universal Health Services, Inc. has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Growing steadily since our inception into an esteemed Fortune 500 corporation, our annual revenues were approximately $12.6 billion in 2021. During the year, UHS was again recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune; ranked #270 on the Fortune 500; and ranked #307 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Public Companies.
Our operating philosophy is as effective today as it was upon the Company’s founding in 1979, enabling us to provide compassionate care to our patients and their loved ones. Our strategy includes building or acquiring high quality hospitals in rapidly growing markets, investing in the people and equipment needed to allow each facility to thrive, and becoming the leading healthcare provider in each community we serve.
Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has approximately 89,000 employees and through its subsidiaries operates 28 acute care hospitals, 335 behavioral health facilities, 40 outpatient facilities and ambulatory care access points, an insurance offering, a physician network and various related services located in 39 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. It acts as the advisor to Universal Health Realty Income Trust, a real estate investment trust (NYSE:UHT).
Contact
For more information
Erin Patrick Statewide Manager of Communications Mercy Health 616-260-5101 [email protected]
Jane Crawford Universal Health Services 610-291-7217 [email protected]