Psychiatric hospital planned in Berks
Reading Hospital, Acadia Healthcare announce plans for 144-bed facility
WEST READING » Reading Hospital and Acadia Healthcare plan to build a 144-bed behavioral health facility in Berks County to serve the needs of clients in Berks and surrounding counties.
The plans for the facility were announced Tuesday by Tower Health, Reading Hospital’s parent company, which also owns five hospitals in Montgomery, Chester and Philadelphia counties.
The new facility will include inpatient adolescent, adult and geriatric psychiatric care. It will also include partial hospitalization programming, intensive outpatient program services, outpatient counseling and physician professional services, consultation, and chemical dependency care, according to the announcement from Tower Health.
While the 92,000-square-foot center does not yet have a name, it will be branded to Tower Health and will have a 50/50 governance, according to spokeswoman Jessica Bezler.
Plans call for the new center to be built on an 82-acre parcel of land in Bern Township in Berks County, allowing room for future growth. Bezler said it will have 300 employees. Construction is expected to begin in early 2018 with an anticipated opening in early 2019. No information was available on the anticipated cost of the project.
“We have an urgent need for additional behavioral health resources in our community,” said
Clint Matthews, president and CEO of Tower Health and Reading Hospital. “Acadia Healthcare offers extensive national experience in behavioral health care with a demonstrated standard of excellence in the treatment of behavioral health and addiction disorders. Together, with Reading Hospital’s demonstrated high quality care, this collaboration will address a very critical community
health need.”
A Community Health Needs Assessment conducted in Berks County in 2016 showed that one in five residents of the county has been diagnosed with either an anxiety or depressive disorder and two in five had activity limitations due to poor physical or mental health, according to a press release announcing the joint venture partnership.
“The Community Health Needs Assessment clearly identified the growing need for additional behavioral
health resources in this community and Acadia is proud to partner with Tower Health to expand and enhance the existing services currently offered at Reading Hospital,” said Joey Jacobs, CEO and chairman, Acadia Healthcare.
Based in Franklin, Tennessee, Acadia provides behavioral health and addiction services to its patients in a variety of settings, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, specialty treatment facilities, residential treatment centers and outpatient clinics.
The company operates 579 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 17,400 beds in 39 states, the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico.
Among the company’s Pennsylvania locations are the Pottstown Comprehensive Treatment Center; the Coatesville Comprehensive Treatment Center; and the Bowling Green Brandywine Treatment Center in Kennett Square.
“Given the current demand for behavioral health services across our region we believe this facility,
as well as the Behavioral Health services at Chestnut Hill Hospital, Brandywine Hospital and Pottstown Hospital, will ensure access to high quality care to our individual and Tower Health communities,” Bezler added.
Tower Health was previously known as Reading Health System. In October, the company completed its purchase of Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville; Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia; Jennersville Hospital in West Grove; Phoenixville Hospital in Phoenixville; and Pottstown Hospital in Pottstown. It was then renamed Tower Health and also includes Reading Hospital in West Reading; Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing; Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences in West Reading; and a connected network of 2,000 physicians, specialists and providers across 65 locations.