Community leaders celebrate Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital grand opening in Youngstown
Mercy Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health, an operating division of Lifepoint Health, recently joined community leaders for a celebratory ribbon cutting marking the grand opening of Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital in Youngstown. The new hospital is the result of a joint venture partnership between Mercy Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health that was announced in 2023.
With 72 beds and a footprint of nearly 62,000 square feet, Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital is specially built for the needs of patients diagnosed with a broad range of psychiatric criticality, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, psychosis, personality disorders, and mental health concerns accompanied by substance abuse.
The hospital will provide inpatient treatment upon opening and plans to advance outpatient treatment, a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and intensive outpatient program (IOP) in the months to come. These additional programs are designed to provide sustainable support to patients who are managing day-to-day responsibilities alongside ongoing treatment.
“Mercy Health is proud to celebrate the opening of Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital with our partners at Lifepoint Behavioral Health. This significant investment ensures patients across the Mahoning Valley can access the behavioral health services they need close to home,” said John Luellen, MD, state president, Ohio, Mercy Health. “As our community continues to grow, so does our commitment to expanding high-quality care and supporting the well-being of every person we serve.”
Luellen said Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital creates a therapeutic environment for patients through the use of open, airy spaces, spacious patient rooms and community areas, an outside courtyard and flexible clinical spaces that are designed to meet the needs of patients and families in both individual and group treatment settings.
The hospital is supported by a multidisciplinary team of nurses, licensed clinical social workers, psychiatrists and behavioral health technicians. Therapeutic interventions will utilize diversified programming that includes specific therapy models of treatment encompassing the whole person. These treatment models provide evidence-based therapies with distinct short- and long-term goals of improving and sustaining mental health.
“The opening of Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital reflects our commitment to meeting an escalating regional need for greater access to behavioral health treatment,” said Joseph Caruso, chief executive officer of Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital. “I couldn’t be prouder of this team of behavioral health professionals, and I know that with the support of our community partners across the Mahoning Valley, we will be able to bring vitally needed care that transforms individuals and builds healthier, more sustainable communities.”
The new behavioral health hospital is located directly adjacent to Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital, which opened to patients last year. The 60-bed rehabilitation hospital is operated through a joint venture between Mercy Health and Lifepoint Rehabilitation, another operating division of Lifepoint Health.
It provides inpatient and outpatient care for patients recovering from stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, complex neurological disorders, orthopedic conditions, multiple trauma, amputation and other injuries or disorders that impact a patient’s functional or cognitive skills.
“This is an exciting day for our teams as we celebrate the completion of our vision to build a vibrant specialty care campus here in Youngstown,” said Dr. Nicki Tessler, president of Lifepoint Behavioral Health. “We know we are stronger and more agile through partnership, and we are proud to work alongside an innovative and patient-focused community health system like Mercy Health to bring vitally needed behavioral health services to northeast Ohio. We have a mission of making communities healthier, and we can only achieve this by supporting the mental, emotional and psychological health and wellbeing of our neighbors.”
Lifepoint Behavioral Health will manage the day-to-day operations of the behavioral health hospital, which now joins its network of 25 free-standing behavioral health hospitals across the country.
Representatives said Lifepoint Behavioral Health champions clinical excellence, operationalizing a unified ecosystem of behavioral health care that is patient-centered, focused on the whole person, driven by data and strengthened through innovative partnerships.
Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital is at 3170 Belmont Avenue in Youngstown.