Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute
The decision comes after failed attempts to renew the current lease, which expires in September 2026
As part of its steadfast commitment to providing much-needed behavioral health services in central Pennsylvania, Penn State Health will relocate the inpatient services of the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (PPI) to Holy Spirit Medical Center in Camp Hill.
November 7, 2024
Penn State Health intended for PPI to remain at its current location at 2501 North Third Street in Harrisburg, and has worked to enter into a new lease with UPMC, which holds the master lease for the location. However, UPMC has not responded to Penn State Health’s requests, leading to the decision to relocate to maintain continued access to these essential services.
“Given the circumstances, we must take action now to ensure PPI’s successful move by September 2026,” said Kim Feeman, president of PPI. “We aim to make the transition as seamless as possible and minimize disruption to care and services for patients and their families, physicians, staff, faculty, students and researchers.”
Late last year, Penn State Health assumed 100% control of PPI following the departure of UPMC as a 50% joint venture partner.
PPI’s inpatient services will continue unchanged until the end of the lease. PPI’s outpatient psychiatry and therapy services and the Advances in Recovery clinic, which provides comprehensive services to people with opioid use disorder, will also continue to operate at their current location in Harrisburg until September 2026. Penn State Health is working to find a new location for these services near the current location.
Later this month, architects and contractors will begin renovating the third and fourth floors of Holy Spirit Medical Center. Leaders are working on a plan to retain all employees and transfer some of the hospital’s medical and surgical services to nearby Hampden Medical Center.
“We will continue to provide all the important behavioral health services and resources we currently provide in Cumberland County,” said Kyle Snyder, president of Hampden and Holy Spirit Medical Centers. Holy Spirit Medical Center offers an acute inpatient and partial hospitalization program, and intensive outpatient and dual diagnosis programs. “Combining these existing services with PPI will create an even greater impact for our communities as we leverage the benefits of our integrated academic health care system to provide the best possible behavioral health care in central Pennsylvania.”
The PPI team will work side by side with the Holy Spirit Behavioral Health team and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health throughout the transition process.
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