Addressing Community Needs
Our community is facing a health care access crisis, and it will take all of us working together to expand access to much-needed services for our friends and neighbors. 1.7 million Michigan residents have a mental health condition, and nearly 40% of these individuals are not receiving the care they need.
University of Michigan Health-Sparrow is committed to being part of a community-focused solution, and we are working diligently to address these complex needs in the short and long term. We are proud to announce that the University of Michigan Board of Regents has approved a new behavioral health hospital on the UM Health-Sparrow Lansing campus that will help reshape health care in Mid-Michigan.
The behavioral health hospital will be located in a park-like setting and feature a contemporary, holistic and healing environment. Building is slated for vacant UM Health-Sparrow-owned property behind the Lansing hospital near Pennsylvania Avenue and Jerome Street.
The 64-bed, $83 million state-of-the-art facility will serve adult, geriatric and -- in a first for the area -- child and adolescent patients. The facility is being designed to highlight the natural environment and ample acreage, with indoor and outdoor gardens, light-filled spaces and modern security and safety enhancements for patients and team members.
What is behavioral health?
Behavioral health includes complex and growing challenges like mental health and substance abuse disorders, as well as life stressors, crises and symptoms.
140 adult patients on average sit in Michigan Emergency Department waiting rooms every day waiting for appropriate behavioral health services.
3-4 days: Average wait for patients to get a bed in a behavioral health facility
Artist Rendering of University of Michigan Behavioral Health Hospital
For the first time, we are adding 16 beds specifically for children and adolescents, responding to the rising number of cases involving young people.
The new facility will enhance research opportunities between Michigan Medicine experts in Ann Arbor and those at UM Health-Sparrow and allow for expanded treatment methods. It will ensure proper care is provided in the right setting, reducing reliance on UM Health-Sparrow Lansing’s Emergency Department.
Artist Rendering of Walking Path
Artist Rendering of Aerial View of Walking Path
The facility will enhance research opportunities between Michigan Medicine experts in Ann Arbor and those at UM Health-Sparrow and allow for expanded treatment methods unavailable at the crowded, outdated space currently used for behavioral health services at the old St. Lawrence campus in Lansing. The proximity to UM Health-Sparrow Lansing’s Emergency Department is crucial since so many behavioral health patients come to the ED or have additional medical needs requiring treatment.
Learn more
Learn more about our community’s health care access crisis and hear from community members about the importance of ensuring our families, friends and neighbors can get the care they deserve close to home.
- Lansing’s Health Care Access Crisis
- NAMI Lansing Supports University of Michigan Health -Sparrow Lansing Plan to Build a New Behavioral Health Facility in Lansing (July 15)
- Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Letter to Lansing City Council (July 8)
Canfield: Lansing residents deserve local life-saving mental health care (Lansing City Pulse) - Dr. John Baker: Mental health crisis at breaking point; new facility will help address care shortage (Lansing State Journal)
- Surging Behavioral Health Needs in Michigan (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The behavioral health crisis touches nearly every family, and experts say care is enhanced when patients can be treated in their own communities. More than one in five adults in the U.S. experienced mental illness in 2024 and more than one in seven youth ages 6-17 have a mental health disorder. Rising youth mental health cases have contributed to thousands of behavioral health patients visiting the UM Health-Sparrow Lansing Emergency Department every year. The increase in behavioral health cases creates a backlog in emergency departments because there are few psychiatric facilities available to accept them. The project is aimed at addressing the sweeping needs of the community and reflects University of Michigan Health’s commitment to improve access to care for everyone, including the most vulnerable populations.
It will serve adult, geriatric and, in a first for the area, child/adolescent patients. The new hospital also will enhance research opportunities between Michigan Medicine experts in Ann Arbor and those at UM Health-Sparrow and allow for expanded treatment methods.
There are several things that make this hospital special, including the fact that, for the first time, we are adding 16 beds specifically for children and adolescents, responding to the rising number of cases involving young people. It will also be designed in an environmentally pleasing way with ample acreage and a focus on light-filled spaces and safety for patients and staff. It will include indoor and outdoor gardens for our patients and a nod to the history and culture of our community.
It will be a 64-bed, $83 million state-of-the-art facility with room to expand in the future on the site behind UM Health-Sparrow Lansing near Pennsylvania Avenue and Jerome Street.
A groundbreaking will be held in summer 2026, with plans for a 2028 opening.
After significant vetting, it’s clear that our extended campus, which included the former Eastern High School building, is the only site in Lansing that is appropriate for the behavioral health facility our community needs. Importantly, the old EHS site on our extended campus is located directly next to the Sparrow Emergency Department, which is critical to providing best-in-class behavioral health care, because half of the patients who present with behavioral health concerns also have additional medical needs requiring treatment. The site on our extended campus also meets additional criteria for a high-quality behavioral health facility, including proximity to public transportation, ample acreage for the outdoor programming and the footprint required to build an internal layout that supports the safety of patients and care teams, as well as the needs of patients requiring differing levels of care. No other site in Lansing or on the UM Health-Sparrow campus provides these crucial features.
We have been connecting for years with local elected officials, community leaders, mental health advocates, neighborhood groups and school alumni. We look forward to continuing to partner with all individuals who care deeply about behavioral health services and the legacy of Eastern High School.
We invite community members to share your perspective on the community’s behavioral health needs and UM Health-Sparrow's new hospital by reaching us at [email protected].
Share your voice
We invite community members to share your perspective on the community’s behavioral health needs and UM Health-Sparrow's new hospital by reaching us at [email protected].