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Holyoke Medical Center Proposes New Behavioral Health Hospital

Mar 03, 2020

Holyoke Medical Center Proposes New Behavioral Health Hospital

HOLYOKE, MA – March 2, 2020 – Holyoke Medical Center’s leadership team, recognizing the increased need for behavioral health inpatient beds in the western part of our state, has been planning for approximately one year to identify a way to address this need. This process has produced a proposal for a new, state-of-the-art, standalone inpatient facility.

In addition, in September, 2019, Holyoke Medical Center partnered with Signet Health Corporation to assist the hospital in the delivery of behavioral health services by providing high quality management and consulting services.

The current inpatient behavioral health unit at Holyoke Medical Center has a capacity of 20 beds. The proposed new facility would have approximately 100 beds, including the 20 existing beds currently on the 5th floor of the main hospital building. It is designed to provide best-in-class care in a purpose-built facility specifically tailored to accommodate the needs of behavioral health patients with all of the modern requirements, including secure outdoor space.

A Letter of Intent has been signed with the Leo Brown Group, a full-service healthcare real estate development and solutions company, to design and build the facility. Holyoke Medical Center has identified a suitable location on the main hospital campus for the proposed building. In addition, the hospital will continue to work with Signet Health for management services within the proposed facility.

The conversations with appropriate stakeholders, including DMH, DPH, EOHHS, and the City of Holyoke, will begin shortly and will continue in the following weeks as the hospital seeks to obtain local and state approval to move forward with the project.

“Holyoke Medical Center is eager to have conversations at the state level to expand the much needed behavioral health bed capacity in western Massachusetts. This proposal is fully in-line with the Commonwealth’s goal to increase investment in behavioral health services,” said Spiros Hatiras, President and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems.

It is estimated that, once approved, the new facility will take 18 months to complete and become operational.

For the past six years, Holyoke Medical Center has been growing and expanding services through recruitment and retention of high quality doctors and advanced practice providers, and the proposed project is fully aligned with the mission of the health system. 


About Holyoke Medical Center:

Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) is a 198-bed independent community hospital with over 1,300 employees serving individuals and families throughout the cities and towns of the Pioneer Valley. The medical staff includes more than 375 physicians and consulting staff.  Holyoke Medical Center is a nationally-accredited hospital and is the first and only hospital in Western Massachusetts to obtain the prestigious accomplishment of becoming certified in the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System. HMC received the Top Hospital Award in 2016 and 2014 from the Leapfrog Group for excellence in quality of care and patient safety. This full-service hospital provides a complete line of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services, including an award-winning Stroke Service consistently recognized as one of the best in the state for the past decade and receiving the 2019 Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus & Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Holyoke Medical Center is a member of Valley Health Systems in Holyoke which also includes the affiliates Holyoke Medical Group, Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice Life Care, and River Valley Counseling Center. To learn more, visit holyokehealth.com.

About Signet Health:

As a nationally recognized healthcare leader, Signet Health is an expert in the planning and operations of inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services including the management, program development and improvement of acute behavioral health and rehabilitation services. Signet uses its expertise to help hospital-based psych and rehab units across the country enhance revenue and control operating costs without compromising quality of care. www.signethealth.com

About Leo Brown Group: 

Leo Brown Group is a full-service healthcare real estate development company that achieves the optimal balance of capability, cost control and capitalization for each project developed. The leadership team has more than 100 years of experience in healthcare development, financing and construction and has developed more than 4 million square feet of healthcare real estate that includes senior living, post-acute facilities and behavioral specialty hospitals. www.leobrowngroup.com 

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