Huntingburg’s St. Joseph Hospital set to reopen as Mission Behavioral Health providing geriatric psychiatric services
The remaining portion of the former St. Joseph’s Hospital in Huntingburg is set to open in late September or early October as a 16-bed senior psychiatric hospital.
The new practice, Mission Behavioral Health, is being brought to the area through a partnership between Midwest Behavioral Management, LLC and Deaconess. Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center–which recently became a Deaconess affiliate–and Deaconess announced they had purchased the former hospital and 9.8 acres of the property in March. At that time, they stated they intended to open a center dedicated to geriatric psychiatric services.
With renovations and updates to the building nearly complete, Mission Behavioral Health will open in the coming months.
According to the Mission Behavioral Health website, the organization is committed to providing quality, patient-focused care to seniors with primary psychiatric diagnoses. The new center will provide treatment for anxiety, psychosis, behavior disturbances, depression, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, as well as mental disorders resulting from brain injury, stroke, and other neuropsychiatric conditions.
“While there are a multitude of adult inpatient psychiatric facilities nationwide, these often mix patients of varying ages and diagnoses,” said Elizabeth Jachim, MSN, RN, clinical leadership consultant for Midwest Behavioral Management. “Mission Behavioral Health stands out as one of the very few hospitals in our state and country that exclusively admit and treat senior adults with primary psychiatric diagnoses.”
The clinical team will also care for those with medical and other secondary diagnoses, considering each patient’s unique medical, physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges. The company’s multidisciplinary team creates a tailored treatment plan specifically for each patient.
Since acquiring the property, physical renovations have been made to update the facility with new elevators and a new roof; the parking lot will be resurfaced this fall. Additionally, the interior has been remodeled to allow more space for patients–a factor that plays a critical role in patient progress, according to the company.
Based on community needs, the company has acknowledged that there is plenty of space in the hospital building to expand into other services.
Mission Behavioral Health will employ about 50 individuals as nurses, behavioral health technicians, and dietary and housekeeping personnel when open. Those positions are listed on the company’s new website here. The company is seeking a qualified director of nursing/administrator to oversee the new 16-bed hospital that will provide services for patients within a 60-mile radius of Huntingburg.
“This is an exciting addition to Mental Health Services in this area,” Jachim said. “Providing safe and therapeutic care to our loved ones is the most important care you can give our older adult population.”
The new facility will be located at 1880 Medical Arts Drive in Huntingburg and can be contacted by phone at (844) 420-6669.
