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State Awards $30 Million to STCC to Relocate Health Programs
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Techni- cal Community College has received $30 million in state funding to move health- care programs out of an aging building on campus that has outlived its usefulness.
Gov. Charlie Baker announced the award on Wednesday. College officials
in December asked the state for the maximum amount of $30 million to vacate Building 20, which houses 18 degree and certificate allied health programs as well as the acclaimed SIMS Medical Center. STCC has secured $11.5 million from other sources for the $41.5 million project.
The award announced by the gov- ernor comes from the state Division of Capital Management and Maintenance (DCAMM).
Constructed in 1941, Building 20 is past its useful life and has a history of expen- sive emergency repairs. The healthcare programs in the School of Health and
Opened in 1941, STCC’s Building 20 has had a long history of expensive repairs.
between the administration, trustees, our legislative delegation and the STCC Foundation.”
The STCC Board of Trustees commit- ted $6 million from the college’s budget
to the project. Trustees Chair Marikate Murren said, “We’re thrilled and grateful to Gov. Baker and DCAMM for their support to make this move possible. The relocation of the programs in the School of Health and Patient Simulation will al- low STCC to continue to prepare students for healthcare careers. The investment in this project represents an investment in the City of Springfield and the region.”
To best summarize the outlook for the College, Cook said, “I am delighted for our students and faculty as this ensures that STCC stays on the leading edge of healthcare education; the future of STCC is bright.”
Patient Simulation educate more than 700 students per semester and employ more than 120 faculty and staff.
“We offer our thanks to Governor Bak- er, Lieutenant Governor (Karyn) Polito
and Education Secretary (James) Peyser for investing in the future of healthcare and workforce development in such an impactful way,” said STCC President John Cook. “This has been a true team effort
Mercy Medical Center Grant to Expand Capacity of Two MHA Programs
SPRINGFIELD — The Mental Health Assoc. (MHA) received a $132,000 com- munity benefits grant from Mercy Medical Center to support capital improvements that expand capacity for two MHA programs. The award is based on the hospital’s 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) with grant funds from Mercy parent Trinity Health.
MHA will use $112,000 of its grant through Mercy’s Community Health and Well Being (CHWB) department for a fire-suppression system at its group home in Holyoke that serves members of the LGBTQ+ in recovery with substance-use and mental-health diagnoses. The Yale Street residence is part of MHA’s GRIT (Grow, Reimagine, Inspire, Transform) program. The remaining $20,000 is fund- ing an additional bedroom at MHA’s Safe Haven program in Westfield.
“The funding so generously provided by Trinity Health will directly impact
our ability to serve additional individu- als in need of housing, as well as support for their early stages of recovery,” said Kimberley Lee, MHA’s vice president of Resource Development and Branding. “With the fire-safety system we are now installing, and which will extend to the third floor, MHA will be able to put addi- tional bedrooms online at our Yale Street GRIT program. Safe Haven, a residential program for chronically homeless individ- uals, many with a substance-use diagnosis, will also now have one new additional bedroom to serve a person in need.”
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires tax-exempt hos- pitals to create a CHNA every three years, and Lee said the Trinity funding “is not just a capital investment, it is an invest-
ment in improving, for the long term, the lives of adults who otherwise would not have access to programming.”
According to the CHNA done for Mercy in 2019, “substance use and
mental health were identified as urgent health needs/problems impacting the
area in virtually every type of stakeholder engagement.” It also recognized a need for “culturally sensitive care.”
MHA’s Yale Street program currently has a waitlist of 30 individuals, and its Safe Haven program has a waitlist of nine. Yale Street is the only program in the state that focuses specifically on the LGBTQ+ community in recovery. The Safe Haven program, which is contracted through
the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, provides transitional housing
for hard-to-engage homeless men and women.
In allocating community benefits grants from Trinity, Mercy works with commu- nity-based organizations with a proven ability to meet the needs identified in the most recent CHNA. MHA’s grant was
one of three such separate grants totaling $273,000 that Mercy recently announced. “At Mercy Medical Center, our mission
calls us to serve as a transforming, healing presence,” said Deborah Bitsoli, president of Mercy Medical Center and Trinity Health Of New England Medical Group. “We are grateful to Trinity Health for these grants as they will have a significant impact on our efforts to further that mis- sion and expand services to vulnerable patient populations.”
MiraVista Behavioral Health Center Opens Clinical Stabilization Unit
HOLYOKE — MiraVista Behavioral Health Center announced the opening
of its Clinical Stabilization Service (CSS). The CSS program is part of MiraVista’s Substance Use Disorders (SUD) con- tinuum of care, which includes Acute Treatment Services (detox), the Opioid Treatment Program, and outpatient treat- ment. The CSS unit will provide focused, short-term residential care to bridge the transition from acute treatment to outpa-
tient care.
“Since MiraVista’s initial opening last
spring, launching a comprehensive array of SUD services has been a major priority for us,” said Dr. Michael Krupa, CEO of MiraVista Behavioral Health Center.
Formerly Providence Behavioral Health Hospital, MiraVista Behavioral Health Center opened its doors in April 2021 with inpatient adult psychiatric treatment. Since then, it has opened 48 acute-care
beds, including the recently opened ado- lescent unit and last week’s launch of its CSS unit. The unit is starting off with 12 beds and plans to expand to a total of 27 throughout the spring, bringing total SUD treatment capacity to 57 beds. CSS will care for patients from MiraVista’s acute treatment service as well as other inpatient facilities in the community.
“The MiraVista team has worked tire- lessly in the past year to provide these
crucial services for our Western Massa- chusetts communities,” said Mark Paglia, MiraVista’s chief operating officer. “The addition of these substance-use-disorder services and planned future expansion at MiraVista is improving overall access to mental health and addiction treatment throughout the region.”