St. Joseph’s Health is relocating and renovating its inpatient psychiatric unit in Syracuse. The $21.5M project will add more private rooms, improve patient monitoring, and allow full use of all 30 authorized beds, with completion expected by 2027.
St. Joseph’s Health in Syracuse is renovating and relocating its inpatient psychiatric unit to improve patient privacy, safety, and access to care. The project involves moving the unit from a James Street building to a two-floor space within the Clare Loeber Smith Center on Union Avenue, closer to the hospital’s psychiatric emergency department.
The redesigned unit is intended to support a therapeutic environment through increased natural light, large windows, and nature-inspired interior elements. The new layout will also allow staff to more effectively monitor patient rooms through a centralized design.
Although St. Joseph’s is authorized to treat up to 30 inpatient psychiatric patients at one time, the current unit typically accommodates about 22 patients due to limited single-occupancy rooms. The renovated facility will include a greater number of private rooms, allowing the hospital to fully utilize all licensed beds and more consistently accept patient transfers from other hospitals.
Patients admitted to the unit generally arrive through the hospital’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program and receive inpatient services such as medication management, psychotherapy, group therapy, family therapy, and behavioral interventions once stabilized.
The $21.5 million project includes renovation and expansion of the building’s first and second floors, along with upgrades to mechanical, electrical, plumbing, window, and elevator systems. Plans also call for a new Union Avenue entrance, façade improvements aligned with the hospital campus, and new sidewalks. No additional parking is planned.
St. Joseph’s secured $16.9 million in funding from the New York State Department of Health in 2018, though planning was delayed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The James Street building vacated by the unit has no confirmed future use. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, according to reporting by Syracuse.com.