HOLYOKE — Politicians, hospital executives and local residents celebrated the new Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital on Monday, which is expected to provide some much-needed support for mental health services in the region when it opens in October.

Located at the former Holyoke Geriatric Authority building, the hospital has 150 beds as well as rooms for art and occupational therapy, a gymnasium for physical activity and recreation, and access to outdoor spaces for fresh air. It will provide behavioral health care for children, adolescents and adults, and hospital officials have indicated that it will increase capacity for inpatient behavioral health care in western Massachusetts by 50%.

State Sen. John Velis, speaking before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, referred to the ongoing mental health crisis in the state as the “challenge of our time.”

“I’ve got a lot of colleagues in this room who have gotten calls from people in the community with a loved one or who themselves need help. And we haven’t been able to give them that help,” said Velis, D-Westfield, who chairs the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. “That is a problem of the most profound magnitude. This facility right here, these 150 beds, pushes back on that.”

Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, said the new hospital would reduce the likelihood that patients needing care would be transferred outside the region.

“We now understand more about the role behavioral health plays in overall health,” said Keroack, who last month announced his plans to retire in 2024. “We’re also facing new and growing problems caused by the pandemic and by the ongoing opioid epidemic.”

During the pandemic, the mental health crisis in western Massachusetts was particularly exacerbated when Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke closed 74 inpatient psychiatric beds, ending its child and adolescent psychiatric services and causing a reduction in mental health services in the region.

“After they closed, there was a massive surge in patients having to sit in emergency rooms for weeks,” said Barry Sarvet, who chairs the department of psychiatry at Baystate Health, in an interview following the ceremony. “The need for mental health services has outstripped the capacity.”

In May, Baystate officials reversed an earlier decision to close Greenfield’s 22-bed mental health unit at Baystate Franklin Medical Center as part of the consolidation plan.

Though the new hospital will have 150 beds, it will start with only 30 long-term beds initially. It will open fully when it receives the proper accreditation, according to Roy Sasenaraine, the CEO for Valley Springs. Sasenaraine said the hospital was taking steps to ensure the facility would be adequately staffed.

“Staffing is always a challenge with any organization,” Sasenaraine said. “But we have different strategies in place to bring resources from out of state as needed.”

Also attending the event were Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, who gave remarks at the event before heading off to the Veterans’ Home in Holyoke to meet with Gov. Maura Healey for a groundbreaking event at the former Soldiers’ Home (see related story).

“This is not going to be easy. I know that the return on the investments is on the margins,” Neal said. “But this is going to be a terrific partnership.”

Garcia thanked the Holyoke City Council and other city officials for coming together to make the new hospital a reality.

“Local government can be complex, where we’d have to go to the site plan reviews and issue the permits, enforce ordinances and other laws,” he said. “But here in Holyoke, it’s seamless because we have an incredible team and network that is able to streamline and achieve the level of efficiency we need so that projects like this one can come to fruition.”

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.

Following the ceremony, attendees were able to step inside and tour the new hospital. Employees currently working in facilities whose services will be transferred to Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will have the opportunity to apply for positions there, according to Baystate’s website.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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