SPRINGFIELD – A swath of land off International Way will soon be home to an inpatient behavioral health campus.
According to County and hospital officials, PeaceHealth’s new Timber Springs Behavioral Health Hospital will be located on one parcel near PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. In the immediately adjacent parcel, Lane County plans to build the Lane Stabilization Center to treat folks in behavioral health crises and connect them to long-term solutions.
“This move is a huge leap forward in being able to complete our behavioral health continuum of care and provide critical services for our community,” said Eve Gray, Lane County Health & Human Services Director.
Timber Springs will replace PeaceHealth’s current 35-bed behavioral health unit on the University District campus — nearly tripling the capacity for behavioral health patients across the region.
The current unit is designed to treat only the most acute adult psychiatric patients, meaning the new hospital will not just increase capacity but expand services to many new patients.
The 96-bed Timber Springs facility will offer inpatient behavioral health services for adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients and intensive outpatient treatment.
According to PeaceHealth officials, the hospital will be architecturally designed to create a safe, therapeutic environment for patients. It will feature an open, airy interior and spacious patient rooms, as well as community areas, outside courtyards, and state-of-the-art clinical spaces to support the needs of patients and families.
The new facility is a way to “help meet a significant community need to expand mental health resources,” said Alicia Beymer, chief administrative officer at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.
Through diverse therapy offerings and individualized treatment programs, Timber Springs will treat patients experiencing a broad range of behavioral health conditions, including major depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, schizophrenia, and co-occurring alcohol or substance-use disorders, among others, officials said.
PeaceHealth is planning to partner with Lifepoint Behavioral Health, a business unit of Lifepoint Health, to build and operate the new facility.
PeaceHealth and Lifepoint Rehabilitation, another business unit of Lifepoint Health, previously announced and received Oregon Health Authority approval for a 42-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital that will also be located near RiverBend.
On the Lane County parcel, the LSC will offer an alternative to the emergency department or incarceration for individuals with behavioral health stabilization needs, and provide a key triage function in conjunction with Timber Springs. The LSC will also serve as a potential next step for individuals utilizing Mobile Crisis Services of Lane County or any other crisis provider.
Gray said that the property is better suited to meet the needs of their patients, and the proximity to the behavioral health campus “will mean better outcomes for those who access these facilities and for our partners who will be transporting individuals there.”
Acquisition of both parcels was not financially feasible for either organization individually, so PeaceHealth and Lane County entered into an agreement by which Lane County made the initial purchase. PeaceHealth subsequently purchased one of the parcels from Lane County.
“What we are seeing here has implications that reach beyond this project,” Gray said. “It is getting harder and harder to stretch limited funding while needs are increasing, but through strategic public/private alliances, we can breathe new hope into meeting the needs of our community.”
The Lane County Board of County Commissioners authorized staff to make an offer on its parcel, which, when combined with PeaceHealth’s offer, was accepted by the seller.
