Erlanger asking for permission to build $25 million behavioral health hospital

The entrance sign for Erlanger Medical Center is located on the east side of the facility on Third Street near the intersection with Central Avenue. The entrance sign for Erlanger Medical Center is located on the east side of the facility on Third Street near the intersection with Central Avenue.

By Steve Johnson March 12, 2016 2 min read

Erlanger Health System is asking the state for permission to build a $25 million behavioral health hospital that eventually would employ 200 people, according to hospital officials.

The 72,000-square-foot facility would be located at the intersection of North Holtzclaw Avenue and Citico Avenue, about a mile east of the main Erlanger campus and about the same distance from Parkridge Medical Center and CHI Memorial hospital.

Erlanger officials must obtain permission to build the new hospital from the state Health Services and Development Agency, which decides whether new medical facilities are needed and appropriate.

Erlanger Senior Vice President for Planning, Analytics and Business Development Joe Winick said Friday he is optimistic the facility will be approved.

“Statistics show that probably 50 percent or more of the people in the community who have a mental health or behavioral health condition do not get care,” Winick said Friday. “The need is huge.”