Tampa General Hospital (TGH) and Kindred Behavioral Health, a business unit of LifePoint Health, announced that they have entered into a joint venture partnership to build and operate the new Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital. The partnership is the second between TGH and Kindred and represents the next building block in Tampa's ever-expanding downtown medical district, as the behavioral health hospital will be located adjacent to the TGH Rehabilitation Hospital, an 80-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility being constructed in partnership with Kindred Rehabilitation Services. The Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital, a projected investment of $43 million, will employ more than 200 health care professionals to further power Tampa's medical district that drives talent, biotech, and venture capital to the region, transforming Tampa into a complete ecosystem of health care.

The four-story, 83,000-square-feet facility will include 96 inpatient beds with the potential to expand to 120 beds. Tampa General Hospital will provide team member health services, medical support services, staffing, medical staff physician credentialing, a laboratory, and security. Kindred Behavioral Health will manage the day-to-day operations of the new hospital.

The hospital is expected to break ground in late 2022/early 2023 and officially open in late 2024. The behavioral health hospital's full range of inpatient and outpatient services will be led by the region's psychiatrists from USF Health and will offer learning opportunities for medical students and residents at USF Health Morsani College Medicine. This will help address the shortage of behavioral health practitioners in the region by serving as a recruitment tool to attract new medical residents and psychiatrists to Tampa Bay, all while providing access to high-quality, behavioral health care.

In addition, the hospital will serve as the first point of evaluation and care, providing initial emergent evaluations for individuals in the community going through a behavioral health crisis. Patients experiencing mental health emergencies will receive emergent evaluation and intensive stabilization with an immediate assessment to determine the safe treatment plan beyond the initial crisis. The behavioral health hospital will also collaborate with private practice physicians.