Ephrata hospital to expand behavioral health unit

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Construction, set to begin this week, should be completed this summer, Wellspan said Tuesday.

Denver-based Heck Construction Company Inc. is the contractor for the $3.4 million project, which will add 3,300 square feet to the hospital’s behavioral health unit and create new areas for group therapy, activities and dining.

The updated unit will have 18 beds and allow WellSpan to care for patients who require longer hospital stays.

WellSpan Ephrata typically treats between 250 and 320 patients in a year, suffering from illnesses such as depression or bipolar disorder, and its seven-bed unit is often completely filled, according to Leslie Naylor, director of behavioral health services at WellSpan Ephrata.

“Typically these patients are a danger to themselves or others, or unable to function in their daily lives due to their mental illness,” Naylor said.

With the expansion, patients with less acute needs will be able to stay in Ephrata for three to 10 days, while patients with more persistent mental illness can have extended stays for up to 180 days.

WellSpan will add about 10 to 15 positions as a result of the expansion. These positions will include those who work in peer support and care management as well as nursing staff, therapists and also an additional certified nurse practitioner, Naylor said.

The behavioral health unit at WellSpan Ephrata is managed by WellSpan Philhaven, a Lebanon-based behavioral health system that WellSpan acquired in January 2016.

The behavioral health unit will close during construction. Patients who enter WellSpan Ephrata’s emergency room and require inpatient behavioral care will go to Philhaven’s hospital in nearby Mt. Gretna.

Expanding behavioral health services has been a priority for Wellspan since its Philhaven acquisition. For example, in October 2016 it completed a new 10-bed unit at its emergency department in York.

WellSpan also recently added a full-time behavioral health clinician in the emergency department at WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon.

WellSpan isn’t alone in adding more resources for behavioral health.

Behavioral health units in hospitals across the state are struggling to keep up with patient demands in both rural and urban areas.

In Lancaster City, Lancaster General Health is building a 126-bed behavioral health hospital, slated to open in 2018. LG health, which is affiliated with Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine, has partnered with Montgomery County-based Universal Health Services to operate the hospital.