LANSING — University of Michigan Health-Sparrow is aiming to build a $97.2 million psychiatric facility at the former Lansing Eastern High School site.
Health system officials said Friday they have asked the state to approve certificates of need for 120 beds. That’s a required step before hospital systems can expand, and should the state grant approval the U-M Board of Regents will be asked to sign off on the proposal.
U-M officials said the former high school campus, located directly north of Sparrow’s main Michigan Avenue campus, is the right site because of its proximity to the existing hospital and emergency department at 1215 E. Michigan Ave.
The high school building has been closed for years and has a “dilapidated interior (that) makes it unsafe and cost-prohibitive to locate any services there,” spokesperson John Foren said in a statement.
The health system said the project will include working with school alumni and community members to preserve the history of the school with the expectation of submitting a final proposal to the university’s Board of Regents in the next few months.
Three letters of intent sent to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in May give some details about the requests.
The three distinct parts of the new facility, each under a separate letter of intent, would include:
- 10 inpatient adult beds
- 24 child/adolescent beds
- 37 adult special pool beds, which can include geriatric, medical psychiatric and other needs
The two-story space, covering those three sets of beds, would be approximately 98,455 square feet and also would include unused areas for future purposes, activity/dining space, gymnasium and outdoor activity yards, an outpatient program space and areas for administration, admission and medical and support staff.
Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, commended U-M Health for its proposal.
“This proposed investment in psychiatric care is a huge step forward for our capital city,” said Anthony, chair of the state Senate’s Appropriations Committee, in a statement. “Unlocking (120) beds at the former site of Eastern High School just around the corner from the main hospital campus is significant progress in ensuring everyone has access to the care they need, while simultaneously addressing an area of blight on one of Lansing’s main corridors.
“I’m excited to learn more about the plans to reimagine the site and partner with community leaders to ensure the legacy of the school lives on. It is going to take a widespread commitment and investment across the public and private sectors to make headway on the behavioral health crisis in our state, but when it comes to our people, it is always worth the investment.”
Approximately 1.7 million Michigan residents having mental health conditions, and nearly 140 adult patients and approximately 17 adolescents sit in Michigan emergency department waiting rooms daily waiting for appropriate services, U-M Health officials said in Friday’s statement.
About 60 percent of patients admitted in the emergency departments for behavioral health needs are waiting for a bed to become available, they said.
The Lansing Board of Education unanimously approved the sale of Eastern High School to the Edward W. Sparrow Hospital Association in January 2016.
The agreement was for the school district to receive $2.5 million for the 18 acres where Eastern sat. The district was given up to five years of rent-free occupancy to relocate its students to a new building. It remained responsible for paying utility and other costs associated with maintaining the building during the transition.
Upon approval, tensions surrounding the future of the district’s high schools dated back more than a decade.
Pattengill Academy was closed in mid-2018 to make way for renovations to turn it into the new Eastern High School. The 626 Marshall St. building opened as a 7th through 12th-grade building in fall 2019.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415