Franciscan Health’s former Michigan City hospital site on Homer Street will begin to see more patient activity soon.
System representatives rededicated the facility, which has provided services to Michigan City since 1904, with a blessing July 22. Franciscan spent $20 million to demolish several of the older campus structures and renovate the site the past several months.
The Homer Street site house Franciscan Health Michigan City Behavioral Health, a 14-bed unit, that will relocate from the current hospital and begin operations later this summer. Prenatal assistance and senior health & wellness (PACE) will begin serving patients in the fall.
Dean Mazzoni, president and CEO of Franciscan Health Michigan City, said the dedication represents the culmination of planning, discussions and work that began in 2016, when Franciscan Health, city leaders and the surrounding neighborhood began to determine the future for the campus at 301 W. Homer St.
“Through a board-approved $20 million investment, we will now have a revitalized campus that will offer much needed community programs and services,” Mazzoni said. “I would characterize our collective efforts simply as this: Promises made, promises kept – to the city, to our community and, most importantly, to our patients.”
The Most Rev. Robert J. McClory, bishop of the Gary Diocese, conducted the blessing of the facility.
“It’s a sign of the commitment of Franciscan Health to the Region and to meet the needs of all those, particularly those who obviously are most in need of the healing touch of Christ,” he said.
The new Program for the All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) will provide a social gathering space for adults 55 and up from La Porte and Porter counties as well as services to coordinate their care. A PACE program at Franciscan Health Dyer currently serves Lake County residents.
The Prenatal Assistance Program will provide access to care and resources for expectant mothers who might not otherwise have access to those services. It will complement WIC, the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, which already leases space in the building.
Physician offices and other services that extend the Franciscan Health mission and address community need will round out the offerings in the remodeled property.
The relocation of Franciscan Health Michigan City’s 14-bed inpatient behavioral unit will open space in the current hospital for a medical surgical unit. Mazzoni anticipates that project will bring between 40 and 60 new jobs into the area.
Demolition is on schedule and is expected to be completed by December, system officials said.
