CLIVE, IOWA (May 2, 2019) — Today MercyOne Central Iowa and Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) held a ceremonial groundbreaking for their new 100-bed behavioral health hospital, serving Central Iowa and the surrounding region. The new facility, named Clive Behavioral Health, is a partnership of MercyOne and UHS to address the growing, unmet need for accessible, high-quality and advanced behavioral health services. Clive Behavioral Health will be located at 1450 NW 114th Street in Clive, across from the MercyOne Clive Health Plaza and MercyOne Rehabilitation Hospital. The 34 psychiatric beds at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center will continue to serve adults and seniors.
MercyOne selected UHS, one of the nation’s most respected hospital management companies, as its partner because of its behavioral health expertise and the shared vision and commitment to patient and family-centered care, strong clinical outcomes and proven track record of partnering with academic, regional networks and community-based entities. UHS will be the majority owner and will oversee the day-to-day operations and management of the new behavioral health facility.
“We are excited to partner with UHS to bring these much-needed services to central Iowa. We look forward to working with our community partners and advocates to serve more patients and families, as we are committed to serving the overall health needs of our community,” said Karl Keeler, MercyOne Central Iowa President.
The new state-of-the-art facility will span more than 83,000 square-feet, with a one-story clinical and support services area, and a three-story unit for inpatient and outpatient services.
“UHS is pleased to collaborate with MercyOne Central Iowa, a premier organization, to provide critically needed behavioral health services in the Clive region and surrounding communities,” said Universal Health Services National Director, Behavioral Health Integration Shelah Adams. “UHS continues to expand our partnerships with leading health care organizations across the country to develop behavioral health solutions to meet the unique needs of the system and community. We recognize MercyOne shares our mission and vision to provide patients and their loved ones with compassionate, high-quality behavioral health care, services and support.”
The new facility will feature a full continuum of inpatient services including units to serve children and adolescents. Specialty programs for adults with co-occurring behavioral health and substance use issues will be offered to meet the unique needs of this patient population. In addition, the facility will offer robust outpatient programs to address the most prevalent behavioral health concerns, including child, adolescent and family counseling; and treatment for depression, anxiety disorders and other common behavioral health issues.
Behavioral health care continues to be at the forefront of societal concerns among health care providers, government officials, legislators and community service organizations in Iowa and across the country.
In Iowa, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people 15 to 34 years of age; 90 percent of those who die by suicide experience mental illness. In addition, roughly 600,000 Iowans live with some form of mental illness. Despite the need for mental health services among a large portion of the population, Iowa ranks dead last in the country for psychiatric beds per capita, according to a 2016 report from the Treatment Advocacy Center.
Watch the groundbreaking ceremony >
About MercyOne Central Iowa
MercyOne Central Iowa operates four not-for-profit, Catholic medical centers in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Newton and Centerville (875 beds combined total) and two specialty hospitals – MercyOne Children’s Hospital in Des Moines and MercyOne Rehabilitation Hospital in Clive – along with more than 20 additional facilities that house more than 60 primary care, pediatric, internal medicine and specialty clinics. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1893, MercyOne Central Iowa has the longest continually operating hospital in Des Moines and is also one of the largest employers in the state, with more than 7,000 employees and a medical staff of more than 1,000 physicians and allied health associates. MercyOne Central Iowa is a member of MercyOne, which was founded in 1998 through a collaboration between CommonSpirit Health and Trinity Health – two of the country’s foremost, not-for-profit Catholic health organizations. The MercyOne system has more than 20,000 colleagues in Iowa and surrounding states.
Universal Health Services, Inc.
One of the nation’s largest and most respected hospital management companies, Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS) has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Growing steadily since its inception into an esteemed Fortune 500 corporation, UHS today has annual revenues of $10.7 billion. In 2019, UHS was again recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune; in 2018, ranked #268 on the Fortune 500; and in 2017, listed #275 in Forbes inaugural ranking of America’s Top 500 Public Companies.
The UHS operating philosophy is as effective today as it was 40 years ago: Develop high quality hospitals in growing markets, invest in the people and equipment needed to allow each facility to thrive, and become the leading healthcare provider in each and every community we serve.
Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has more than 87,000 employees and through its subsidiaries operates more than 350 inpatient acute care hospitals and behavioral health facilities, and 32 outpatient and other facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.
