New Tecumseh behavioral health center's partners want to meet with community

TECUMSEH — With the behavioral health center planned for the former Herrick Hospital in Tecumseh expected to begin offering its services in phases in about a year and a half, input on the facility is being sought.

To get feedback from the Tecumseh community, the partners in the proposed facility are hosting a public meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. July 18 at the former Herrick Hospital to provide an opportunity to speak directly with representatives from Behavioral Health Consulting Partners of North America and learn more about the proposed facility’s services, the 18-month project timeline, community partnerships and the benefits for the city.

500 E Pottawatamie St LLC is expected to take ownership of the building at the same address, and Behavioral Health Consulting Partners of North America (BHCPNA), which is affiliated with the LLC, will run the facility.

“The purpose of the meeting on July 18 is to get community feedback,” Kenneth Weber, principal of BHCPNA, said.

Weber said that the organization is currently working on a name for the new behavioral health center.

“We believe it is well suited to provide services for those within a 200-mile radius of Tecumseh,” Weber said. “We also believe that the facility itself, with its gym area and full-size basketball court lends itself to whole person wellness.”

BHCPNA projects include a behavioral health center getting underway in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and one in Duval County, Florida.

“Eventually we would like to provide the full continuum of care for those diagnosed with substance use disorder, mental health issues and co-occurring disorders,” Weber said. “Many communities across the country do not have enough services for the need. By eventually providing the full continuum of care we hope to fill any void in these services for those in Lenawee County as well as surrounding areas.”

The initial phase of the proposed facility would offer adolescent inpatient for dual diagnosis as well as adult outpatient care for the prevention, intervention and treatment of substance use disorders and mental health concerns.

“Across the country there is a pressing need for quality adolescent behavioral health services,” Weber said. “Our eventual goal is to provide inpatient and outpatient services for people of all ages.”

Everything is still preliminary and BHCPNA is taking a phased approach to operating. Once fully operational, the organization estimates there will be more than 150 full-time jobs for maintenance, janitorial, recreational, medical and behavioral health professionals, Weber said.

Referrals for the facility will come from health care providers, hospitals, large employers, municipalities, schools and the internet, among others.

BHCPNA is developing partnerships with local and regional health care service providers including the Michigan Hospital Association to provide referrals from nearby hospitals and to provide relief to local hospital emergency departments through use of the facility’s certified professionals for treatment. 

A relationship with the University of Michigan Medical School that would allow the proposed facility to be a training site for fellowships in medicine and psychiatry is also under discussion. 

A partnership with Tecumseh Public Schools is also moving forward that would provide resources to the school district by providing in-service training for staff as well as the creation of a crisis team formed by trained and licensed professionals to efficiently respond to situations that may occur.  

“We want to be a strong community partner, so we are reaching out to many community organizations who work in or overlap with this sector,” Weber said.

BHCPNA hopes to begin work on the facility by year end and open in the first quarter of 2024.

“Because we are taking a phased approach, we will start with areas that need more cosmetic updates then move to areas of the facility that require more in-depth work,” Weber said.

Herrick Hospital closed in 2020 after being consolidated with Adrian’s ProMedica Bixby Hospital into the newly built ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital in Adrian Township.

BHCPNA's managing partners, Weber and Regina Flanagan, have decades of experience in developing and managing behavioral health centers.

The Tecumseh center's medical director will be Dr. Raymond Pomm, an addiction specialist board certified in psychiatry, neurology and addiction psychiatry. He also is an associate professor in psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine at Jacksonville and has roots in the area.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Public meeting set for July 18 at former Tecumseh Herrick Hospital