Madera, Calif. (September 18, 2019) — Valley Children’s Healthcare launched a new partnership today to address one of the most significant healthcare needs in the region. Valley Children’s President and CEO Todd Suntrapak announced that Universal Health Services (UHS) will construct and operate a new behavioral health facility on Valley Children’s Madera campus.
This 81,600 square foot, 128-bed behavioral health hospital will provide accessible, high-quality and advanced behavioral health services in the Central Valley. One 24-bed unit will be dedicated specifically to pediatric psychiatric care, treatment, services and educational needs, assisting Valley Children’s in addressing the needs of patients presenting to the Emergency Department. Additional units at the new behavioral health hospital will serve adults and seniors. The new hospital will employ more than 250 people, including clinicians, nurses, mental health technicians, support staff and administration.
“There is hardly a day that goes by that I don’t get a question from a parent, a healthcare provider or a community member in search of behavioral healthcare for their kids — and, in particular, behavioral healthcare that is right here in the Valley,” explains Todd Suntrapak, President and CEO, Valley Children’s Healthcare. “The behavioral healthcare needs for our children and families are significant and this new facility will provide our Valley with new resources closer to home.”
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The new facility will feature a full continuum of inpatient services, including units designed specifically for children and adolescents, ages 5 to 17. Specialty programs for adults with co-occurring behavioral health and substance use issues will be offered to meet the unique needs of this patient population. In addition, the facility will offer robust outpatient programs to address the most prevalent behavioral health concernsincluding child, adolescent and family counseling; and treatment for depression, anxiety disorders and other common behavioral health issues.
California continues to face a shortage for inpatient behavioral health beds for adults — and the shortage of inpatient services for children ages 5 to 17 is even more pronounced.
- The Treatment Advocacy Center, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness, recommends one inpatient bed per every 2,000 residents.
- There are an estimated 39,536,653 people living in California.¹ With only 6,777 inpatient beds for those in need of behavioral health services, there is one bed for every 5,834 people and one inpatient bed per every 8,905 child or adolescent.²
- In our 12-county service area, this shortage continues to be emphasized. There are 929,436 children between the ages of 6 to 17 residing in the Central Valley and only 49 current beds. That means there is one bed for every 18,968 child or adolescent.¹ ²
Valley Children’s is partnering with UHS, one of the nation’s most respected hospital management companies, to construct and operate the new facility because of UHS’ behavioral health expertise and the commitment to patient and family-centered care, strong clinical outcomes and proven track record of partnering with academic, regional networks and community-based entities. UHS will be the sole owner and operator of the new behavioral health facility.
“We are proud to celebrate this new partnership with Valley Children’s. Our mutual goal is to always provide patients and their loved ones with high-quality, compassionate services and support,” said Bob Deney, Senior Vice President, Universal Health Services, Behavioral Health Division. “UHS is proud to collaborate with highly respected, leading health care organizations in key markets across the country, to provide services that save lives, restore hope and improve communities.”
“I continue to be inspired and humbled when hospitals lead and respond to the needs of the people they serve,” added Carmela Coyle, President and CEO, California Hospital Association. “That’s what Valley Children’s Healthcare and Universal Health Services are doing by investing in a new behavioral health facility in the Central Valley. Their commitment to children with mental health and substance use disorders exemplifies all that hospitals can and should be doing to help people live better lives. The residents of California’s Central Valley will be stronger in mind and body thanks to your leadership, and I’m personally grateful for affirming to everyone what hospitals are truly all about.”
Construction of the new hospital is expected to begin next year, with an estimated opening of 2022. Valley Children’s and UHS will immediately begin work on a psychiatric residency program, as well as telepsychology services for children served by the Valley Children’s network of care.
For additional information, please visit valleychildrens.org/uhs.
About Valley Children’s Healthcare
Valley Children’s Healthcare — one of the largest pediatric healthcare networks in the nation — provides Central California’s only high-quality, comprehensive care exclusively for children, from before birth to young adulthood. Our network offers highly specialized medical and surgical services to care for children with conditions ranging from common to the highly complex at its 330-bed stand-alone children’s hospital or in one of their three neonatal units (28 beds) located across the Valley. In addition, the Valley Children’s Healthcare network includes specialty care centers, pediatric primary care practices, urgent care center and women’s health services.
Our family-centered, pediatric services extend from a leading pediatric cancer and blood diseases center on the West Coast, and a pediatric heart center known for its expertise and pioneering treatments, to a Regional Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the highest level referral center between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
Valley Children’s was the first children’s hospital west of the Rockies to receive Magnet Nursing designation, the highest nursing benchmark in the world. It is also one of the fewer than 10 pediatric intensive care units in the nation to have received the Beacon Award of Critical Care Excellence. With more than 640 physicians and 3,500 staff, Valley Children’s delivers high-quality, comprehensive care to more than 1.3 million children in its 12-county service area.
For more information, please visit www.valleychildrens.org.
About Universal Health Services, Inc.
One of the nation’s largest and most respected hospital management companies, Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS) has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Growing steadily since its inception into an esteemed Fortune 500 corporation, UHS today has annual revenues of $10.7 billion. In 2019, UHS was again recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune; ranked #293 on the Fortune 500; and in 2017, listed #275 in Forbes inaugural ranking of America’s Top 500 Public Companies.
The UHS operating philosophy is as effective today as it was 40 years ago: Develop high quality hospitals in growing markets, invest in the people and equipment needed to allow each facility to thrive, and become the leading healthcare provider in each and every community we serve.
Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has more than 87,000 employees and through its subsidiaries operates more than 350 inpatient acute care hospitals and behavioral health facilities, and 32 outpatient and other facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.uhsinc.com.
Citations
1. Population data from US Census Bureau and KidsData.org.
2. Data from OSHPD 2017 reports
Contacts
For more information
Zara Arboleda Director, Communications and PR Valley Children’s Healthcare 559-284-0187 [email protected]
Jane Crawford Director, Public Relations Universal Health Services 610-382-4830 [email protected]
