LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Mercy Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health opened the Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital on Tuesday, filling another health care need in the community.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the facility at 3170 Belmont Ave.
With 72 beds and nearly 62,000 square feet of space, the hospital was specially built for individuals diagnosed with a broad range of psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, psychosis, personality disorders and mental health concerns combined with substance abuse.
A reception area at Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital.
“This is just a spectacular facility,” said Dr. John Luellen, Ohio’s state president for Mercy Health. “We have an opportunity to service patients in a way that they haven’t been served previously in the Mahoning Valley, frankly in a way that most behavioral health patients aren’t served. This is a purpose-built facility.”
Joseph Caruso, CEO of Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital, called the new facility an “absolute game changer.”
Mercy Health – St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital has 42 beds to serve individuals with behavioral health needs. Compared with that space, the new hospital on Belmont Avenue is custom-built for both in-patient and out-patient therapy rooms.
The facility features an admissions waiting area for families separate from patients; an indoor gym for yoga and exercise, music and art therapies; quiet spaces; an enclosed courtyard; a dining area; and meeting spaces. Three pods of semiprivate rooms provide space for those staying at the hospital.
Mercy Health Behavioral Hospital is located at 3170 Belmont Ave.
“We’re going to really work toward healing the mind, body and soul,” Caruso said. “The rooms are very, very spacious.”
Caruso said there will be games and other activities, as well as quiet spaces for those seeking a place for reflection.
Located next to Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital, which opened Nov. 14, 2024, also through a partnership with Lifepoint Health, the behavioral hospital is another way to fill health care gaps in the community, Luellen said.
“We’re really trying to create an experience where people receive the absolute best environment to have care that is absolutely necessary and fill the gaps in the community where care has not been provided,” he said.
Caruso said patients will be transitioned to the new facility, ramping up over time. He said there is room to add onto the facility so another 24 beds would be available.
The new facility includes space for exercise and activities.
“We really want to meet people where they are, and this facility is designed to do that,” Caruso said.
The facility will start with inpatient services, with intensive outpatient services coming later in 2026, according to Caruso.
Pictured at top: Dr. John Luellen and Joseph Caruso.
Related