Independence Health System will open a new behavioral health unit at Latrobe Hospital on Wednesday.
The health system announced the plan to expand and consolidate inpatient behavioral health services at its Latrobe Hospital in February 2025 as part of ongoing changes at its three hospital campuses in Westmoreland County.
The facility will replace an existing site on the Westmoreland Hospital campus in Greensburg. Mental health care is a need in the county, and the existing behavioral health facilities were aging, hospital officials said.
“This a reflection of our dedication to addressing the mental health crisis here, not locally, but throughout the region,” said Brian Fritz, president of the system’s Westmoreland, Latrobe and Frick hospitals, during an open house held Thursday at the site.
In the 2023-25 Community Health Needs Assessment done by Independence Health, 672 people said mental health care was an area that needed improvement. Data for the assessment was collected through interviews with stakeholders, focus groups and a survey given to employees and community residents.
In 2020, Westmoreland County had 48 suicide deaths, a rate of 13.6 suicide deaths per 100,000 people, according to the needs assessment.
“We have been paying attention,” Fritz said.
About 100 people gathered in the 28-bed unit for the open house. Among the attendees were members of the Latrobe Area Hospital Charitable Foundation, which donated $2.5 million for the creation of the unit.
The construction and planning for the unit have been in the works for about two years, said Maryann Singley, who is the chief nursing officer for the hospital. It is replacing an inpatient rehabilitation unit that closed in August 2024.
The floor will treat patients with an array of behavioral health issues, among them depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and homicidal thoughts.
On Wednesday , patients seeking treatment at the health system’s Westmoreland campus will be moved to Latrobe. Employees from the Greensburg facility will work at the unit in Latrobe.
The new facility was built to ensure the safety of the patients. Rooms and hallways are painted tan and blue hues.
“Environment is important to anyone’s recovery, and I think that’s what needs to be echoed here,” Singley said.
Dr. Michael Blastos, chief of psychiatry, recognized the change in location may be a challenge, but he said the hospital is working with patients. He said this is also a positive change.
“It means when people come to our ER, they will be able to go to a unit that’s not dank and dark, and we can get to them more expediently,” he said.
The new floor in Latrobe will provide therapy and group therapy to patients. It allows for both social interaction and solitary time. Additionally, the floor will provide patients with social workers, so their recovery is smooth after their release.
“Quality care close to home is our goal, always has been and always will be, and this is just another testament to that,” said Dr. Mary Elizabeth Kovacik Eicher, associate chief medical officer.
The new unit is one of a series of changes for the health system.
West Virginia University Health System agreed to buy Independence in early June, and Latrobe Hospital is in the planning phases of a $15 million project to expand its emergency department.
