New Orleans, La.-based Ochsner Health System and Franklin, Tenn.-based behavioral health provider Acadia Healthcare have formed a strategic partnership to provide critically needed behavioral health services. Together, Ochsner and Acadia will repurpose the existing River Parishes Hospital building in LaPlace, La., to an 82-bed behavioral health facility.
Louisiana currently ranks 39th in the nation for access to care related to substance abuse and mental health treatment. Recent estimates demonstrate a need for more than 400 beds in the greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas.
"Last year more than 4,000 patients were transferred from eight Ochsner emergency departments across the Southeast to other facilities for psychiatric care," said Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Ochsner Health System. "This partnership and new facility addresses the current shortage and significant need for behavioral health services throughout Louisiana and across our region."
Through the partnership, Ochsner will provide the facility and Acadia will invest between $16 million and $18 million in the facility build-out, equipment and working capital. The new facility, estimated to open in 2018, is expected to grow an average daily census of more than 60 patients, with more than 2,500 annual admissions and more than 3,000 outpatient visits. It also represents an additional 145 jobs in St. Parish.