WellSpan Philhaven has opened an expanded inpatient unit at its Mount Gretna campus, with the aim of improving access to behavioral health care across central Pennsylvania. The expanded unit was scheduled to open to patients on July 22.
The expansion added 5,000 square feet and 15 beds to the hospital's extended acute unit - increasing the total number of beds in the unit to 40 - at its main hospital building on South Butler Road. The extended acute unit offers care for patients with complex mental health needs who require a longer-term hospital stay of up to six months.
The expansion of the unit is part of a larger $3.4 million construction project that began in January at the Mount Gretna campus. The project also includes a separate, new 9,300-square-foot administrative building, which is scheduled to open by the end of the year, as well as new offices and conference rooms in the Mount Gretna main hospital building. Heck Construction of Denver is the general contractor for the project.
The project will add approximately 25 jobs at WellSpan Philhaven.
The newly expanded unit features ligature-free fixtures and furnishings, an activities room with large windows and a mix of private and semi-private rooms. Patients can leave the unit to eat in the main cafeteria in the Mount Gretna hospital building, as well as to take walks and to return to their communities, as staff members work to help them transition out of the unit.
Mantha Kotsalos, senior director of inpatient services for WellSpan Philhaven, said the expanded unit is intended to help meet a growing need for behavioral health care across central Pennsylvania. A Community Health Needs Assessment conducted by WellSpan Health identified access to comprehensive behavioral health services as a key need across the region.
In response, WellSpan Philhaven is working to improve access to behavioral health care for patients at primary care offices, offering more online services and group therapy services. WellSpan Philhaven also has expanded behavioral health care offered in emergency rooms at WellSpan hospitals across the region.
The expanded extended acute unit is one of three inpatient units at the WellSpan Philhaven 118-bed hospital in Mount Gretna, which includes a 44-bed acute unit for adults and a 34-bed acute unit for children and adolescents. Outpatient therapy, day hospital, peer support and other services also are offered at the Mount Gretna campus.
The Mount Gretna campus also is home to Green Pasture, a separate 16-bed behavioral health care residence operated for and by the Plain community.
WellSpan Philhaven is a behavioral health organization, with locations across Adams, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties. It offers more than 50 programs at almost 30 locations, serving children, adolescents and adults.
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