New state-operated hospital, located on Community Hospital East campus, will diagnose and treat 1,500 Hoosiers with mental illnesses and addictions each year

Indianapolis – Lt. Governor Eric Holcomb today joined Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) Secretary Dr. John Wernert and executives from Community Health Network to break ground and officially begin construction on the state’s new neuro-diagnostic institute and advanced treatment center. The $120 million state-of-the-art facility located on the campus of Community Hospital East will have 159 beds and the capacity to treat up to 1,500 patients a year. The institute, announced by Governor Mike Pence last December, will be a key component of the state’s initiative to improve Indiana’s network of state-operated mental health facilities and result in major advancements to Indiana’s public mental health services delivery system. The project is a centerpiece of the work of the Governor’s Task Force on Drug Enforcement, Treatment, and Prevention.

“I’m proud that Community Health Network, members of our Task Force on Drug Enforcement, Treatment, and Prevention, and local community leaders in the field of mental illness and drug abuse disorders have come together today to break ground on the first-ever Neuro-Diagnostic Institute,” said Governor Pence. “The scourge of drug abuse affects Hoosiers all across our state, and I’m confident that this new institute will serve as an example of our state’s commitment to recognizing and embracing advances in brain research and improving clinical care for those troubled with mental illness and addictions.”

Lt. Governor Holcomb and FSSA Secretary Wernert were joined by community and government leaders as well as members of the general public who have supported his efforts to improve access to high-quality mental health care. The new institute serves as the cornerstone of the Governor’s ongoing commitment to improve mental health care and address the scourge of addiction in Indiana.

“This facility will quickly become the envy of the nation, a center of excellence where industry best practices including modern genetic and imaging techniques will result in the most efficient and accurate patient diagnoses possible,” said Dr. John Wernert, Secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA). “The ability to develop better and more comprehensive diagnoses will help determine the best treatment plans, which maximize recovery and promote stable community placements and better outcomes for patients.”

The focus of this new institute will be on the precise diagnosis and assertive treatment of brain-based disorders, including:

• acute and chronic mental illness
• chronic addictions
• intellectual and developmental disabilities
• traumatic brain injury
• neuro-degenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease

Construction will begin immediately, and the new facility is expected to open for patient admissions in late 2018. It will eventually replace one of the state’s six current facilities, Larue Carter Hospital in Indianapolis, which will be phased out of operation.

“The Neuro-Diagnostic Institute complements the vision for behavioral health care that we developed here at Community,” said Bryan Mills, president and CEO of Community Health Network. “As the state’s largest provider of behavioral health services, we strongly believe in a holistic approach to medical and behavioral health care, and so do those planning the NDI. We’re looking forward to providing these much-needed services to the communities we serve and our entire state, by aligning our resources with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.”

Additional information about the new Indiana Neuro-Diagnostic Institute is available on FSSA’s website at http://www.in.gov/fssa/dmha/2935.htm.