HOLYOKE, Mass. & BRENTWOOD, Tenn.– Baystate Health and Lifepoint Health today celebrated the opening of Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital with a commemorative ribbon cutting ceremony. The new 122,000-square-foot, four-story facility has 150 private and semi-private rooms for inpatient behavioral healthcare for adults and adolescents. Located centrally in Holyoke, the hospital is operated by Lifepoint Behavioral Health, a business unit of Lifepoint Health, and is now serving patients.
“By entering into this partnership with Lifepoint Health, we were able to build this state-of-the-art contemporary behavioral health hospital, a healing space, which will increase our inpatient behavioral health capacity in the region by 50 percent,” said Mark Keroack, MD, MPH, president and chief executive officer of Baystate Health. “Until now, about 30 percent of behavioral health patients needing care would have to go outside the region. Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will allow us to provide top quality care for more patients right here in western Massachusetts.”
Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital is the result of a joint venture partnership between Baystate Health and Lifepoint Health, announced early in 2022. It is the 23rd behavioral health hospital operated by Lifepoint Behavioral Health and the first behavioral health hospital built and operated by the company as part of a joint venture relationship.
“At Lifepoint, we take pride in being a trusted partner to the communities we serve,” said David Dill, chairman and chief executive officer of Lifepoint Health. “As a diversified healthcare delivery network with capabilities that span the continuum of care, we have a clear and exciting vision to further expand access to behavioral health services in communities across the country. This is an exciting day for our team, and I look forward to all that we will accomplish alongside Baystate Health as we advance our mission of making communities healthier in western Massachusetts.”
The hospital will ultimately employ more than 200 dedicated caregivers and support staff. In the coming months, Baystate Health’s behavioral health units at Baystate Wing and Baystate Noble, as well as the children/adolescent psychiatric treatment unit at Baystate Medical Center, are transitioning their services to Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital. Lifepoint Behavioral Health will manage the day-to-day operations.
“The Commonwealth’s healthcare delivery system is the envy of the nation, and with the opening of the Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital, we are continuing our mission of providing the best care to our communities,” said Congressman Richard Neal. “I would like to thank Dr. Keroack for his superb leadership and his role in the opening of this state-of-the-art facility. Baystate has been a vital partner in addressing the mental health crisis, and this partnership with Lifepoint will undoubtedly have a profound impact on their efforts to serve the western Massachusetts community.”
Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital was structurally designed to create a therapeutic environment for patients, featuring open, airy spaces with amenities that include spacious patient rooms, community areas, outside courtyards, and state-of-the-art clinical spaces to support the needs of patients and families.
“We have worked diligently over many months to prepare the hospital for patients, and I could not be prouder of the team of caregivers we’ve built and all that they’ve done to ensure an environment for safe and high-quality care,” said Roy Sasenaraine, chief executive officer of Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital. “In opening our doors, we are significantly expanding access to vitally needed behavioral health care services to patients across western Massachusetts, and I know that Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will enhance our region in innumerable ways.”
