Former Twin Valley mental hospital gets state’s OK to reopen

Access Hospital Dayton, a privately run facility, may open by end of June, psychiatrist says.

DAYTON — The state Department of Mental Health issued an interim license Thursday for the reopening of the former Twin Valley state mental hospital as a privately run, 28-bed adult facility.

Access Hospital Dayton will eventually have 110 beds and employ 150 people, said Dr. John Johnson, the psychiatrist whose Amamata LLC purchased the facility in January for $1.7 million. Johnson hopes to open a portion of the facility by the end of June, then seek licensure for more beds in subsequent months.

“It’s a big relief,” Johnson said in a brief interview late Thursday.

It wasn’t immediately clear who might be eligible to receive care at the hospital.

Plans to reopen the facility had hit several snags, including concerns about how the virtually landlocked property would be accessed.

In February, the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a conditional use application for a 110-bed hospital. For now, the 46-acre hospital property will be accessed by way of Mapleview Avenue, though Amamata is expected to pursue a new roadway connection to the hospital from Irving and Wilmington avenues.

The property’s formal address is currently 2611 Wayne Ave., though the hospital won’t be accessed from Wayne Avenue.

The city of Dayton also signed off on the project by issuing a temporary occupancy certificate in April.

The state closed the Twin Valley state mental hospital in 2008 as a result of budget cuts.

Those wishing to apply for jobs at Access Hospital Dayton should write to info@accesshospital.net

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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