Penn is spending $5.76 million on the crisis response center at HUP Cedar, Penn said. Independence Blue Cross Foundation provided a $1.5 million grant for the project, and Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health earmarked $4.1 million for it.The two hubs create one-stop shops for patients. By having inpatient units in the same facility as the crisis response center, those who need to be admitted to the hospital won’t have to travel, Oquendo said.
the inconvenience and cost of an ambulance transfer, and quicker admissions will reduce wait time at the crisis response center, Oquendo said. Penn said it expects the new crisis response center to serve 4,000 patients annually. ”The amount of demand that there is for mental health services is staggering,” Oquendo said.this restructuring, the number of psychiatric beds Penn has in Philadelphia will fall to 73 from 95, and the number of addiction treatment beds will fall to 16 from 34, the health system said.
But that doesn’t mean Penn is reducing services, said Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.Mahoney said he expects the new crisis response center to lose about $4 million a year. He said that’s in part because many of the patients who use the services will have Medicaid insurance, which typically doesn’t cover the cost of care.
Penn offers a broad array of outpatient mental health and addiction services in a new Presbyterian facility at 4040 Market St., Oquendo said. The ability to provide intensive outpatient services at that former Elwyn Institute site has reduced the reliance on hospitalization, she said. It is also a critical resource for patients transitioning out of the hospital and into care in the community.