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Date: 3/17/2022
HOLYOKE – A groundbreaking ceremony took place March 8 to celebrate the construction of what will become the Baystate Behavioral Health Hospital at the site of the former Holyoke Geriatric Authority.
Public officials and officials from Baystate Health braved high winds to break ground for a facility that is slated to have 150 mental health care beds and will raise the mental health care capacity of Baystate Health by more than 50 percent.
The 23,000-square-foot facility will be run in a partnership between Baystate Health and Kindred Behavioral Health. Baystate Health President and CEO Mark Keroack said during the ceremony that the country is facing a growing mental health crisis, which was the case even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The facts tell the story. Nearly a quarter of adults and one third of children are simply going without needed care,” said Keroack. “There are simply not enough inpatient psychiatric beds for these patients.”
The facility is scheduled to open in August, 2023. At that time, the mental health units in Baystate Noble Hospital, Baystate Franklin Hospital and Baystate Wing Hospital will all be closed. The impending closure of these units raised concerns from residents about access to local mental healthcare, which led to protests on the property before construction began. Though the facility will increase the number of mental health care beds in Baystate’s system, opponents have said they are concerned about the closure of the existing facilities and how it may become more difficult for people in mental health crisis to get to the Holyoke facility.
Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia called the new facility a “positive benefit to the region.” Beyond the operation of the facility itself, he said that the actual construction of the building has been providing work for local tradespeople. He said he was also excited about the facility’s potential tax revenue to the city.
“It is important to note here that this construction project means more work for the local trades. It is about a $64 million project here in the city of Holyoke,” said Garcia. “I am particularly enthusiastic about the proposal because it will generate more tax revenue for the city. Roughly $1.5 million of new annual tax revenue, and the 250 jobs it will offer the city of Holyoke.”
State Rep. Patricia Duffy said that there had been an increase in people struggling with their mental health before COVID-19, and that the pandemic revealed the longstanding problem and made it worse.
“I think this collaboration, this beautiful, bright, hopeful new facility is an example of how we can all build back better, stronger and kinder,” said Duffy. “It is another example of how we can be a kinder and wiser society after what we have all been through together.”
State Sen. John Velis said that a society should be judged on how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. In this case, he said, this is an example of people coming together to help the most vulnerable members of society, especially after the pandemic.
“We evolved from COVID-19 and I think we are going in the right direction,” said Velis. “We are going to talk about lives lost. We are going to talk about people being sick. We are going to talk about businesses shut down. But right in that conversation, and I think people are realizing this, the impact that it has had on people’s mental health.”