Published: July 16, 2025
LANSING, MI – University of Michigan Health-Sparrow is collaborating with a nationally known provider of behavioral health/substance abuse services to improve access and address the behavioral health crisis in Mid-Michigan.
UM Health-Sparrow has signed an agreement with Sheppard Pratt to utilize the organization’s expertise and management to oversee the health system’s current behavioral health services and expand offerings in areas such as children and adolescent behavioral health care.
Sheppard Pratt will also oversee a new behavioral health hospital planned, pending U-M Board of Regents approval, on the old Eastern High School site near UM Health-Sparrow Lansing. Sheppard Pratt is the nation’s largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health/substance use services/developmental disability/special education and social services.
UM Health-Sparrow's new behavioral health facility will be built on the site of old Eastern High School.
“We at University of Michigan Health are committed to addressing the behavioral health crisis, which impacts nearly every family in the state,” said Margaret Dimond, president, U-M Health Regional Network. “This project aligns us with a nationally recognized leader in the field and will also help us utilize Sheppard Pratt’s training pipeline and excellent reputation to recruit top behavioral health physicians and other providers to the area.”
The behavioral health crisis touches nearly every family in Mid-Michigan and U-M Health is taking a proactive approach so that our community has access to the comprehensive care we all deserve. Roughly 1.7 million Michigan residents have a mental health condition and nearly 40 percent are not receiving care. Well over 100 adult patients sit in Michigan Emergency Department waiting rooms every day waiting for appropriate services, along with an average of 17 adolescent patients. In addition, more than half a million Michiganders are untreated for substance abuse disorders.
The landscape has never been more challenging for hospital systems. Every day, as many as 30 patients walk through the doors of the UM Health-Sparrow Lansing Emergency Department needing help with an urgent mental health issue. These are our friends, relatives and our own children, and it takes an average 3-4 days to find a facility equipped to care for them.
Sheppard Pratt, reporting directly to UM Health-Sparrow leaders, will manage and review the current 59-bed behavioral health units serving adult and geriatric patients. In addition, the organization will oversee the planned new behavioral health hospital that will consist of 88 inpatient beds and add valuable child and adolescent inpatient and ambulatory care services. The new hospital has a targeted completion date of 2028.
“The need for behavioral health services is felt in every community nationwide,” said Harsh K. Trivedi, M.D., MBA, president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt. “We are pleased to partner with the University of Michigan and extend Sheppard Pratt’s industry-leading knowledge, clinical expertise, and resources in behavioral health. Our work will help meet community needs for the growing number of people who need care.”
For more information on UM Health-Sparrow behavioral health, go to UofMHealthSparrow.org/departments-conditions/all-departments/psychiatry-behavioral-health/enhancing-behavioral-health-lansing
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University of Michigan Health-Sparrow is Mid-Michigan’s premier health care organization and includes hospitals in Lansing, Carson City, Charlotte, Ionia and St. Johns, as well as UM Health-Sparrow Specialty Hospital, Care Network, the Michigan Athletic Club, and AL!VE. UM Health-Sparrow is part of University of Michigan Health. Through the dedication of our 10,000 team members, UM Health-Sparrow pursues a vision to be nationally recognized as a leader in quality and patient experience. For more information, visit UofMHealthSparrow.org.