Oklahoma state government breaks ground on 330-bed, $147M project
Construction on the Donahue Behavioral Health Campus in Oklahoma City will begin on March 28. The project brings 330 beds to the city with a price tag of $147 million.
The hospital will encompass 275 adult beds and 55 pediatric beds. It replaces Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma, and adds 100 net new beds to the state’s psychiatric hospital system.
The psychiatric hospital is on Oklahoma State University’s campus in the city. The university will also partner with the state to operate the facility. The intersection of state governments and their public universities presents an opportunity to bring existing health care and funding sources to bear on the lack of access to high-level psychiatric care.
Donahue Behavioral Health Campus is expected to open in 2026. It is funded, in part, by $87 million in money given to the state through the American Rescue Plan Act and a planned sale of Griffin Memorial Hospital, local NPR affiliate KOSU reports.
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), overseeing this project, also recently announced that its collaboration with the nonprofit provider Red Rock Behavioral Health Services came to fruition with the opening of an urgent recovery center in Elk City, Oklahoma.
$50M behavioral health facility coming near Houston
The Texas state government will spend $50 million to help build a behavioral health center in Conroe, Texas, a city north of Houston.
The new facility will replace the Montgomery County Mental Health Treatment Facility, which was built in 2008. Chron.com reports that county leaders have a deadline of June 2025 to complete the project and that it will mirror the existing facility. Facility operations will be outsourced.
The new, 100-bed facility will be built near the existing facility. Chron.com also reports that the country previously tried and failed to see the existing facility.
Acadia Healthcare reveals JV with Ascension Seton
Acadia Healthcare Company Inc. (Nasdaq: ACHC) announced that a Texas-based entity within the nonprofit, Catholic health system Ascension selected it for a joint venture.
The partnership with Ascension Seton adds a 106-bed addition to its hospital in Austin, Texas: Cross Creek Hospital. The addition expands the facility’s bed count to 196.
It’s set to open in late 2024 and will employ Ascension Seton Shoal Creek’s inpatient behavioral health associates in the expansion. Ascension Seton will continue to operate other mental health units at other facilities, according to a news release.
“This joint venture will build upon our expertise while increasing the number of behavioral health beds and other behavioral health services available to patients throughout the region,” Andy Davis, president and chief executive officer of Ascension Texas, said in the release.
Joint ventures are part of the company’s five-point expansion plan, which intends to double the company’s revenue by 2028. However, such joint ventures are a long haul. Fortunately, hospitals are often very motivated to partner with specialized organizations to aid in the development and operation of new psychiatric facilities.
Two residential facilities coming to Portland area
Adult and pediatric behavioral health bed capacity could increase with two projects underway in the Portland area.
Central City Concern oversees the development of a 70-bed mental health and addiction treatment facility in Portland. The project is backed by $17.5 million in commitments from state and local governments as well as a bridge loan from the Medicaid managed care organization CareOregon, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
The publication also reports that Parrott Creek Child & Family Services has broken ground on a $25 million project to build a new 40-bed youth residential treatment facility in nearby Oregon City. The organization’s new facility will serve patients aged 13 to 18 years old. Twenty-eight beds will go online in November, while the remaining 12 will go online in mid-2025. The 22,400-square-foot facility will be built on an 80-acre property.
$10M autism facility completed in Missouri
The Springfield, Missouri-based nonprofit intellectual and developmental disabilities care and services provider Arc of the Ozarks has opened the Autism and Neurodevelopmental Center in its hometown.
The facility will provide diagnostics and treatment for autism. Specifically, it will provide applied behavioral analysis (ABA) as well as occupational, speech and physical therapy, according to KY3.com.
The project was backed, in part, by a $5 million grant from the Missouri General Assembly. The Springfield Business Journal reports that the project cost $10 million.
The dedicated facility will allow Arc of the Ozarks to increase its capacity for autism evaluations from 150 to about 500, Kyle John, the Arc of the Ozarks medical director, told KY3.com. It will act as a hub for other Arc of the Ozarks locations and services.
Public documents show that the organization generated $66.6 million in revenue in its fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, the latest data available.
Companies featured in this article:
Acadia Healthcare, Arc of the Ozarks, Ascension Seton, Central City Concern, Donahue Behavioral Health Campus, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Oklahoma State University, Parrott Creek Child & Family Services
