HARRISBURG – SIH is pleased to announce the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board has granted unanimous approval to SIH’s Certificate of Need (CON) application for the expansion and modernization of the SIH Mulberry Center, an inpatient mental health facility on the campus of SIH Harrisburg Medical Center. The $20 million project will create a new 12-bed medical-psychiatric inpatient unit and upgrade existing spaces, increasing the SIH Mulberry Center’s acute mental illness bed capacity from 30 to 42.
“With this approval, we can move forward to meet a critical need in our community,” said SIH Vice President and Administrator of SIH Harrisburg Medical Center Rodney Smith. “We are grateful to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board for supporting our vision and to our community for rallying behind this project. Expanding the SIH Mulberry Center means more of our families, friends and neighbors can receive the mental health care they need close to home, and we thank everyone involved for helping make it possible.”
The expansion and modernization project is supported by a consortium of regional healthcare and educational institutions, formed to collaborate on the expansion of behavioral health services in rural Southern Illinois. Consortium members include the Egyptian Health Department; Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Center for Rural Health and Social Services Development; Southeastern Illinois Regional Planning and Development Commission; and SIH.
Expanded access to mental health care is urgently needed in Southern Illinois. The SIH Mulberry Center has often operated at full capacity, leaving nearly 700 individuals each year without the help they desperately need—forced to travel far from home or, in some cases, go without care altogether. “Too often, patients in crisis have had to travel hours away or wait days in an emergency room to find an open psychiatric bed,” Smith added. “This expansion will change that reality for our region.”
The new medical-psychiatric unit will serve patients who require both medical and psychiatric care – for example, individuals with acute mental health needs and conditions like diabetes, heart disease or other illnesses. These patients will receive integrated treatment in a safe, specially designed setting, rather than enduring prolonged stays in emergency departments or medical units not equipped for behavioral health.
“This unit is truly life-changing for patients with complex needs. Instead of lingering in the ER or on a medical floor that can’t properly address their psychiatric condition, they’ll be cared for in a dedicated unit by staff trained in both medical and mental health treatment. It’s going to improve outcomes and help relieve some of the strain on our emergency rooms, as well as the stress on our patients and families, which is a win for everyone,” said Dr. Naeem Qureshi, psychiatrist and medical director of behavioral health.
The project’s nearly $20 million cost will be funded in part through a combination of federal and state grants. SIH secured support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Rural Health Care program and Illinois’ Healthcare Transformation Capital Investment Grant program to help finance the expansion. To complete the project and bring its full vision to life, SIH has launched a capital campaign to raise the remaining funds and invites the community to be part of this transformative effort.
A public groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24, at SIH Harrisburg Medical Center.
