Moosic, Lackawanna County, PA -
On a bright, sunny day on Montage Mountain, bright gold shovels were used to break ground on a new behavioral health center that will bring critical services to Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Geisinger and Acadia Healthcare Company have formed a joint venture to address the urgent need for expanded, high-quality inpatient behavioral health services in central and Northeastern Pennsylvania.
As part of the joint venture, two new freestanding inpatient behavioral health facilities will be constructed in Moosic and Danville, with plans to serve adult and pediatric patients beginning in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Together, the new facilities are expected to create approximately 200 new jobs by 2024.
The first facility - Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Northeast - will be a 73,000 square-foot, 96-bed inpatient behavioral health facility to be built at 60 Glenmaura National Boulevard. It is expected to open by the fall of 2022; a similar facility will be built in Danville and will open in 2023. The cost to build both facilities is $80 million.
“This is a momentous occasion,” said Jaewon Ryu Geisinger's president and CEO. “We have created a partnership with Acadia Healthcare who we share a commitment to make these critical services available to our community.”
Acadia Healthcare is the nation's largest provider of behavioral health services. Geisinger serves more than 1 million people across 45 counties in Pennsylvania.
The center will address the growing need for accessible, high-quality behavioral health services in northeastern Pennsylvania.
The facility will provide care for adult, pediatric and adolescent patients who struggle with acute symptoms of behavioral health disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This array of acute behavioral health services provides a level of care unparalleled in northeastern Pennsylvania, especially for children and adolescents. The facility represents an approximately $40 million investment in the community.
“The need for behavioral health resources is a national issue that we also face here in northeastern Pennsylvania,” Ryu said. “Geisinger is committed to making better health easier for all of the communities we serve, and we are excited to partner with Acadia to provide these much-needed services close to home for our patients.”
Debbie Osteen, chief executive officer of Acadia Healthcare, said the company is thrilled to have an opportunity to introduce the new facility to Moosic and the surrounding communities.
”We are so proud to work together to address a rising need in this area,” Osteen said. “This facility, like all in the Geisinger network, will become a strong member of the community, collaborating with all organizations, hospitals and first responders.”
Michael Genovese, Acadia's Chief Medical Officer, said Acadia is “philosophically aligned” with Geisinger.
“Behavioral health issues were at epidemic levels prior to COVID,” he said. “Acadia and Geisinger will offer the very best of both organizations tom address these critical needs. It is said that a good doctor treats the disease - the great doctor treats then patient.”
Justin Coffey, chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral health at Geisinger, cited several alarming statistics regarding behavioral health in the region. He said among young adults and adolescents, suicide is second only to vehicular accidents as cause of death. He said since the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of depression and anxiety have risen to all-time highs.
“And access to efficient treatment has been difficult,” he said. “We need to change that and be part of the solution by bringing behavioral healthcare closer to home.”
Geisinger and Acadia will open a similar facility in Danville, with construction slated to begin in 2022. These two new centers will allow Geisinger to consolidate inpatient behavioral health programs from Geisinger Medical Center, Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital and Geisinger Community Medical Center, providing additional capacity and expanded private room availability at those hospitals.
John Augustine, president/CEO at Penn's Northeast, said Thursday's announcement is “a collaborative solution to an unfortunate problem facing our community.”
“We welcome the partnership between Geisinger and Acadia and look forward to the medical and economic benefits that it will bring to Northeastern PA,” Augustine said.
