The Maryland Health Care Commission this week authorized Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) to move forward with plans to build a new $25 million, 56,000-square-foot psychiatric hospital. The AAMC Mental Health Hospital will house 16 beds and offer both in-patient and out-patient treatment for a host of mental health conditions.

According to the Baltimore Business Journal:

Victoria W. Bayless, CEO of Anne Arundel Medical, said she is “very pleased” with the outcome of the vote and grateful for the unanimous support of the commission for the project. She said mental health services represent the single largest health care need in the local community.

“We transfer out about 1,200 patients a year from our emergency department for mental health, and they end up having to go to places like Shepard Pratt,” she said. “It’s important for us to be able to provide this service closer to home.”

The facility is expected to be fully operational by summer 2020.

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