Granite Hills plans to ramp up capacity by fall

A new psychiatric hospital in West Allis hopes to ramp up capacity by fall to help Milwaukee County transition away from the Mental Health Complex.

Granite Hills Hospital accepted its first county-referred patient on Jan. 18, after finishing construction on the center last fall.

“With any new startup, we’ve had our challenges,” CEO Jennifer Bergersen said at a Wisconsin Health News event Wednesday.

That includes workforce issues and a need to provide further education and training to ensure quality care, she said.

The hospital will be accepting new referrals for its inpatient service on Monday. Bergersen anticipates a capacity of up to 10 patients through the end of April.

They’ve asked the Joint Commission to survey the hospital to continue with its certification and licensure, with plans to gradually increase capacity through the summer.

“But I put a caveat on that – we need to make sure that we have an adequate number of providers and quality staff in order to phase up appropriately so we don’t do something that would jeopardize the well-being of those that we’re serving,” Bergersen said.

Their goal is to have two acute adult inpatient units, each with 24 beds, and a unit to serve adolescents open by September. That’s below the 120 beds that would be available once the hospital is fully operational.

“We’re carefully doing this in a quality way,” she said. “It’s prudent and it’s right to do it the right way.”

The plan to have three units available by September coincides with the anticipated opening date of Milwaukee’s new mental health emergency center. The center is a joint venture between the county and the four health systems in the area.

Mike Lappen, Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division administrator, said they’ll maintain operations for inpatient and emergency care until replacements are available.

“While the delay is a challenge for us, we are committed to staying open as long as we need to be,” Lappen said. “We just know it’s too important – those services have to be there.”

Lappen said they have “very high confidence” in the opening date for the center.

Amy Herbst, Children’s Wisconsin mental and behavioral health vice president, said the center will improve care for kids.

‘We are anxious to get to September,” she said.

Brenda Wesley, an advocate for those with mental health challenges and member of the Milwaukee County Mental Health Board, said they’ll have to listen to the community and patients as the transition to new services occurs.

“We can have great plans,” she said. “But we have to really just identify: Are these plans working?”

Rep. Robyn Vining, D-Wauwatosa, helped advocate for Gov. Tony Evers to provide the center with funding and help move services closer to the community.

“The mental health crisis that we have, we’re in this together,” she said.

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