HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – Baystate Health and Lifepoint Health held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Holyoke to celebrate the opening of Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital.
The new 122,000-square-foot, four-story facility has 150 private and semi-private rooms for inpatient healthcare for adults and adolescents. This hospital is operated by Lifepoint Behavioral Health, which is a business unit of Lifepoint Health.
“This hospital, by opening, expands our capacity in western Massachusetts by 50 percent for behavioral health services which is tremendous,” said Chief Executive Officer Roy Sasenaraine.
The new hospital is a joint venture partnership between Baystate Health and Lifepoint Health that was announced in 2022. This is the 23rd behavioral health hospital that is run by Lifepoint Behavioral Health and the first behavioral health hospital that is built and operated by the company as part of a joint relationship.
“We actually will serve the pediatrics all the way to the geriatric population, each of those populations has specific needs so it’s through a combined of clinical care through group therapy there are activities,” said Sasenaraine.
The company says the $72 million facility is designed so patients can receive their care and treatment in an environment that supports their recovery.
“There were 470 people waiting in emergency rooms across the state, 70 in four counties in western Massachusetts waiting for a psychiatric bed to open somewhere in the state,” said Baystate Health President and CEO Mark Keroack.
He says it was important to expand their services because people should not have to leave the area to get the help they need. Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital is now accepting patients for their 30-bed long-term care unit.
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