West Chester behavioral health facility now one of region’s largest

Beckett Springs is now one of the largest behavioral health hospitals in the Tri-State region after completing a second expansion project that allows it to add services to the facility for children and adolescents.

The West Chester Twp. facility, at at 8614 Shepherd Farm Drive, offers inpatient and outpatient mental health and addiction treatment services. It added 24 more inpatient beds to grow to a 96-bed facility.

“The growth is an indicator of the quality service,” said Jeff Pritchard, the facility’s CEO. “People continue to come, we continue to have more community need. That’s the reason to expand the beds.”

MORE: West Chester addiction facility expanding to treat teens

The expansion also includes the facility’s outpatient setting, which now includes Changes of Beckett Springs, an additional inpatient program that fills a void for intensive treatment options for children and adolescents struggling with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues at the West Chester and Dayton locations.

With the expansion, the facility now also offers a second exercise space.

“Physical activity is very important,” Pritchard said. “It allows us to do things like yoga and fitness activities.”

The facility does numerous other adjunctive therapies, such as art, music and pet therapy, he said.

“It’s not a day of sitting in a room … there’s a lot of ways to approach,” Pritchard said. “Discharge planning is a big piece, so as we go through those things, it’s working with folks on what will you do when you leave here? What are some activities we can teach you to do while your here? What are the things you can do with your downtime out there, who are those providers we can hook you up with to continue your treatment once you leave?”

The expansion brings the Butler County facility to a little more than 250 employees, he said.

Since opening in August 2013, Beckett Springs has expanded its bed capacity from 48 to 96 beds to provide treatment to adults in inpatient programs for mental illness and addiction issues. A 24-bed expansion project occurred in 2015, and the facility was fully staffed and at full capacity by March 2016, Pritchard said.

Beckett Springs has also continued to grow outpatient programs, expanding to a second outpatient site in Dayton, to ensure a full continuum of care for its patients.

Both the West Chester and Dayton locations are staffed with full time teachers to meet the academic needs of the children who are engaged in the treatment programs.

About the Author