Geisinger and Acadia Healthcare Break Ground for New Behavioral Health Center

Geisinger and Acadia Healthcare Company held a groundbreaking ceremony for Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Northeast, a new 96-bed inpatient behavioral health facility. The event occurred on the site of the new facility at 60 Glenmaura National Blvd. in Moosic.

Slated to open in the fall of 2022, the facility is a joint venture between Acadia Healthcare, the nation’s largest provider of behavioral health services, and Geisinger, which 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 posttraumatic 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,” said Jaewon Ryu, M.D., J.D., Geisinger’s president and chief executive officer. “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.”

“We’re thrilled to have an opportunity to introduce this new facility to Moosic and the surrounding communities,” said Debbie Osteen, chief executive officer of Acadia Healthcare. “We are so proud to work together to address a rising need in this area. This facility, like all in the Geisinger network, will become a strong member of the community, collaborating with all organizations, hospitals and first responders.”

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. Together, the new facilities are expected to create approximately 200 new jobs by 2024.

Pictured in photo are: Matthew Walsh, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Geisinger; Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, president and chief executive officer, Geisinger; Justin Coffey, MD, chair, psychiatry and behavioral health, Geisinger; Michael Genovese, MD, JD, chief medical officer, Acadia Healthcare; Isa Diaz, senior vice president of strategic affairs, Acadia Healthcare; John Hollinsworth, executive vice president of operations, Acadia Healthcare; Heather Acker, vice chair of the Geisinger Board of Directors; Virginia McGregor, chair of the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Board of Directors and member of the Geisinger Board of Directors.

Geisinger Partners With Acadia Healthcare to Expand Behavioral Health Services

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.

Geisinger, which serves more than 1 million people across 45 counties in Pennsylvania, has partnered with Acadia Healthcare, the nation’s largest stand-alone behavioral healthcare company, to establish these new 96-bed, 73,000-square-foot facilities. Geisinger chose Acadia Healthcare, as its partner based on their shared commitment to quality care, strong clinical outcomes, and successful track record of collaborating with numerous premier health systems. Geisinger and Acadia will be investing a combined close to $80 million into these two facilities that together are expected to create approximately 200 new jobs by 2024.

“At Geisinger, we are setting out to make better health easier for the communities we serve,” said Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, Geisinger’s president and CEO. “This joint venture was a natural fit based on a shared commitment to identifying behavioral health needs in the community and partnering to bring world-class care close to home for everyone who needs it in central and northeastern Pennsylvania.”

Both the Danville and Moosic locations are easily accessible from the entire central and northeastern Pennsylvania regions, and are near Geisinger hospitals in Danville, Scranton and Plains Township. Construction is scheduled to begin in Moosic in Fall 2021 and in Danville in 2022. The partnership will provide an opportunity for Geisinger to consolidate inpatient behavioral health programs from Geisinger Medical Center, Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital and Geisinger Community Medical Center into these new facilities, which will allow an opportunity for these vacated units to be repurposed for additional capacity, including expanded private room availability.

“Acadia is proud to be partnering with a leading health system like Geisinger to provide these life-saving services to individuals and families throughout central and northeast Pennsylvania,” said Debbie Osteen, Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Healthcare. “We look forward to collaborating with Geisinger to create these two state-of-the-art, patient-centered facilities that will provide hope and healing for those in need. The increased bed availability and freestanding structures will enable us to care for more patients who require these critical services and help meet the growing need for inpatient behavioral healthcare in these communities.”

A recently released 2020 Mental Health America Report estimates that 47 million Americans now struggle with mental health challenges, an increase of 4 million people since the 2018 report, which mirrors trends locally in central and northeastern Pennsylvania. Upon completion, the two new inpatient behavioral health facilities will address current and future demand for adult, pediatric and adolescent patients who struggle with acute symptoms of mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This vast array of acute behavioral health services provides a level of care previously not seen in central and northeastern Pennsylvania, especially for children and adolescents.

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