Jennie Edmundson Hospital is partnering with a Tennessee-based behavioral health care company to build a 96-bed, state-of-the-art behavioral health hospital in Council Bluffs, officials announced Monday.
The hospital will include 24 beds for children and adolescents and also will provide outpatient behavioral health services. Jennie Edmundson is an affiliate of Omaha-based Methodist Health System. Acadia Healthcare, its partner in the joint venture, is the largest stand-alone behavioral health care company in the United States.
Together, the partners will invest more than $55 million in expanding behavioral health resources in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, describing the new facility as a “center of excellence” that will help address the growing, unmet need for accessible, high-quality behavioral health services in the region. According to American Hospital Directory data, they said, Nebraska and Iowa have a shortfall of more than 300 inpatient behavioral health beds.
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David Burd, Jennie Edmundson’s president and chief executive officer, said patients of all ages in the region will have access to the specialized behavioral health care in a carefully designed environment.
“This hospital will be a tremendous resource, and this partnership will help strengthen our level of expertise and implement proven best practices while enhancing the quality and number of behavioral health services available to patients throughout the area,” he said in a statement.
Jennie Edmundson Hospital and Acadia Healthcare will partner to build a 96-bed behavioral health hospital in Council Bluffs. The location has not been announced.
Jennie Edmundson and Acadia are in the process of securing land for the hospital, which would open in 2026. The location, which will be a site separate from Jennie Edmundson, will be announced at a later date. Construction will begin once the partners obtain all required regulatory approvals, specifically a certificate of need from the State of Iowa.
According to a project website, the 29 licensed behavioral health inpatient beds in Jennie Edmundson’s behavioral health unit would move to the new facility as part of the project.
Plans call for the new facility to include large treatment rooms for group therapy sessions, centralized nursing stations to provide open lines of sight to all common areas, high ceilings and large windows to capitalize on natural light, serene outdoor spaces and high-tech features.
Dr. Pat Ahrens, Jennie Edmundson’s vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer, said the hospital will provide a centralized, regional referral center, creating a single point of care for all mental health and substance use disorders.
Burd said the partners believe the facility will be the largest inpatient behavioral health facility in the area, outside of government facilities in Lincoln and Norfolk. However, he noted that dynamics in behavioral health are fluid.
The hospital would be the latest among several planned expansions in behavioral health care in the area.
Last fall, a nonprofit group called the Mental Health Innovation Foundation, a nonprofit group led by Omaha philanthropist Ken Stinson, and Children’s Hospital & Medical Center announced plans to build a 38-bed inpatient behavioral health facility for children on Children’s campus near 84th and Dodge Streets in Omaha.
At the time, the Behavioral Health & Wellness Center at Children’s Hospital was expected to measure 103,500 square feet and cost $89 million. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development announced in late June that the project had expanded to 107,250 square feet and had a new budget of $110 million.
Community Alliance is building a new 127,000-square-foot Center for Mental Health at 71st Street and Mercy Road that will house all of the nonprofit organization’s nonresidential services, now spread across three locations, under the same roof. That project is backed by a $65 million campaign.
As of late March, Acadia Healthcare operated a network of 250 behavioral health care facilities with approximately 11,100 beds in 39 states and Puerto Rico. It provides behavioral health services in a variety of settings, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, specialty treatment facilities, residential treatment centers and outpatient clinics.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of July 2023
A shelf cloud can be seen from a storm that brought heavy rain and high winds to Omaha early on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon serves in a women’s singles quarterfinal match of the badminton 2023 U.S. Open at the Mid-America Center on Friday, July 14, 2023.
The US’s Presley Smith hits the shuttlecock behind Allison Lee in a mixed doubles quarterfinal match at the badminton 2023 U.S. Open at the Mid-America Center on Friday, July 14, 2023.
Lin Chun-yi, representing Chinese Taipei, takes to the air to hit a shuttlecock during a men’s singles quarterfinal match at the badminton 2023 U.S. Open at the Mid-America Center on Friday, July 14, 2023.
Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn returns the shuttlecock during a men’s singles quarterfinals match of the badminton 2023 U.S. Open at the Mid-America Center on Friday, July 14, 2023.
Sunlight creeps in as a worker welds the dome to the building after the Raising of the Dome All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church near 193rd & Harney streets on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
Bishop Constantine of Sassima, left, and Fr. Alexander Lukashonok watch the Raising of the Dome for All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church near 193rd & Harney streets on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
Workers weld the dome to the building after the Raising of the Dome All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church near 193rd & Harney streets on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
From left, Jerry Carlson, Judi gaiashkibos, Zahn McClarnon, Loretta Jordan and Tammy Rohde visit an old dairy barn on the site of the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School, which operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Names and other messages from the children can still be seen written on and carved into the wooden beams of the barn. Photographed in Genoa, Neb., on Monday.
Loretta Jordan, of Omaha, gets a closer look as she and her son, Zahn McClarnon and Judi gaiashkibos, the executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, visit an old dairy barn on the site of the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School, which operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Names and other messages from the children can still be seen written on and carved into the wooden beams of the barn. Photographed in Genoa, Neb., on Monday.
Crowds gather during the Independence Day Celebration with Omaha Symphony Concert at Gene Leahy Mall in Omaha on Wednesday.
The Omaha Symphony performs during the Independence Day Celebration at Gene Leahy Mall in Omaha on Wednesday.
Kaden Burton, 5, plays in the water during the Omaha Parks and Recreation Department Hydrant Party in Omaha on Monday. Hydrant parties are held at various locations across the city every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Participants play a water game during the 63rd annual Fourth of July parade in Ralston on Tuesday.
Johnathan Lawson (2) dribbles down the court during the Creighton Bluejays men’s basketball practice at the Championship Center in Omaha on Tuesday.
Trey Alexander (23) shoots a free throw during the Creighton Bluejays men’s basketball practice at the Championship Center in Omaha on Tuesday.
Steven Greg Donsbach was killed in his home located at 9927 Essex Drive. Matthew Briggs, a person of interest, was shot and killed by police after a pursuit in Council Bluffs.
A photograph of Mildred Lowe with her mother taken in 1924. Mildred died at 12 years old while attending the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School, which operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her niece, Carolyn Fiscus, a member of the Winnebago tribe, came out to observe as archeologists with History Nebraska excavate a potential burial site for children who died while at the school. Photographed near the site of the school, bordering the Loup River Power Canal in Genoa, Neb., on Tuesday.
Jarell Grant, Zahn McClarnon and Mark Parker monitor and observe as Brittany Walter, a forensic anthropologist and consultant with History Nebraska, excavates a potential burial site for children who died while at the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Photographed near the site of the school, bordering the Loup River Power Canal in Genoa, Neb., on Tuesday.
A child holds a sign “Farmers for Trump” as former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the MidAmerica Center on Friday, July 07, 2023.
A worker steams the wrinkles out of American flags before a campaign rally by Former President Donald Trump at the MidAmerica Center on Friday, July 07, 2023.
Former President Donald Trump throws “Famers for Trump” hats to the crowd during a campaign rally at the MidAmerica Center on Friday, July 07, 2023.
Omaha firefighters look for a man who was one of two swept into manhole during a rainstorm in downtown Omaha on Friday, July 07, 2023 The was carried through the sewer about a mile away and was found trapped behind a metal grate covering a culvert, fire officials said. An Omaha Fire Department crew cut the grate and got the man free,
Sylvia Black poses for a portrait in her garden shed at her Papillion home on Thursday, July 06, 2023.
A view of downtown Omaha from the Farnam Pier at Heartland of America Park on Wednesday.
Construction continues on the playground at Lewis and Clark Landing in Omaha on Wednesday.
Ducks swim in Carter Lake on Tuesday.
Nyle Brockman skates at Mabrey Park in Carter Lake on Tuesday.
Justin Peacock, co-owner of Delta Electric, stands for a portrait at his home in Cedar Creek on Friday. Peacock installed solar panels on his roof in 2019.
Scott Amlee walks his dog Tiana at Walnut Grove Park in Omaha on Tuesday.
