Penn Medicine, Universal Health ready $30M psych hospital

The $30 million Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital — a joint venture between Penn Medicine’s Lancaster General Health and Universal Health Services Inc. of King of Prussia —­ is hosting an open house Saturday to give community members the first look at the Lancaster region’s first freestanding psychiatric hospital.

“The purpose [of the event] is to de-mystify what psychiatric care treatment is all about,” said Jayne Van Bramer, who was hired in November to serve as the new hospital’s CEO.

“When you come into a psychiatric hospital, even if you are voluntary, when that door locks behind you it can feel very confining,” she said. “We want to show them all the treatment options that will be available, which include things like art therapy and music therapy.”

Heisman Trophy Winner and one-time Philadelphia Eagle Herschel Walker will be the featured speaker at the June 30 open house, where he will share his personal story of self-discovery and his mission of being a voice for others experiencing mental illness.

Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital was built to replace and expand the current 36-bed psychiatric unit at Lancaster General Hospital, and to satisfy the growing demand for mental health services. An estimated 30,000 adults in Lancaster County have been diagnosed with a behavioral health condition, according to a recent community health assessment conducted by Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.

“This is a really wonderful opportunity where we took the best of two strong organizations and brought them together to make something new,” Van Bramer said.

Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital CEO Jayne Van Bramer was previously vice president of behavioral health at the 169-bed Brandywine Hospital in Chester County.

Features of the 126-bed Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital include:

• The county’s only dedicated inpatient unit for adolescents,
• A dedicated women’s trauma unit for sexual-assault victims or women with a history of traumatic injuries because of domestic violence.
• Day-treatment services for adolescent, adult and older adults.

Van Bramer said the 77,000-square-foot hospital at 333 Harrisburg Ave. is just one floor, and each unit has secure access to a courtyard with walking paths and outdoor therapeutic space. The hospital also has active day rooms and quiet rooms for patients, and a gynamsium.

The hospital’s philosophy of care, Van Bramer said, is one of understanding and hope being the driver of change.

“We will try to empower individuals in our care by giving them choices and using collaborative decision making, and using the best in evidence-based medicine,” she said.

Van Bramer said the hospital will also embrace a holistic approach to care that will include everything from a full-time chaplain to address patients’ spiritual needs and a registered yoga teacher who will lead daily meditation session for patients, physicians and staff.

In designing the hospital, she said, UHS and Lancaster General wanted to create a “spa-like” setting for patients. “I think we accomplished that,” Van Bramer said. “The colors are soothing and the artwork is all nature scenes.”

Stengel Hill of Kentucky served as the architect for the project and Warfel Construction Co. in Malvern, Pa., was the builder.

Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital will have a soft opening for patients on July 9. Its plan is to operate the hospital with a daily census of about 10 patients during the summer, then ramp up operations after the Joint Commission conducts its accreditation survey for the facility in August.

When the hospital is fully operational, it will have a staff of about 250 full-time employees.

Van Bramer said the staff expect to be active outside the walls of the medical center as well. “Good hospitals don’t exist in isolation,” she said. “We will be very involved in community events. Will will work to address the stigma of, and misconceptions people have about, mental illness.”

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