Akron (Ohio) Children's Hospital finished construction of its $4.5 million inpatient pediatric behavioral health unit.
The project added 10 beds to the unit's initial 14 and transitioned rooms into private rooms.
The expansion will allow the hospital to serve 500 more patients this year and 750 more patients by 2020. In total, the unit intends to serve 1,750 patients annually, an increase from the 1,000 it treats each year.
The addition will also expand education and training opportunities at the center for medical students and adult psychiatry residents from Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown.
"The need is great for these additional beds and we anticipate the expansion of the inpatient unit to impact all areas of our behavioral health program, including increasing the capacity in our outpatient programs," said Stephen Cosby, MD, director and associate chair of pediatrics for the division of pediatric psychiatry and psychology at Akron Children's Hospital.