Heritage Behavioral Health Center gets $43.8M grant

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Illinois Capital Development Board have awarded Heritage Behavioral Health Center a Healthcare Transformation Capital Investment Grant in the amount of $43,841,650.

The grant will facilitate the renovations and re-location of Heritage’s main downtown building to the newly acquired Northgate property at 2800 N. Water St. in Decatur. The estimated cost of renovations is $50 million.

"This grant takes care of a lot of the renovations, it covers the brick and mortar that we'll have," said Mary Garrison, President and CEO of Heritage Behavioral Health. "So that 43.8 million, is a lot. It leaves us with still a chunk, but there'll be other funding opportunities as well. And we can move into a capital campaign if we need to. So we feel very, very fortunate, to have received this, this funding."

As Behavioral Health Resources and Programs become less accessible, Garrison said investments like this are crucial. She said the total funding for this grant was $200 million, meaning Decatur got almost a quarter of the available funding.

When the transition is complete, all of Heritage's services will be in one building. They will have separate areas for administration, community-based services, mental health outpatient care, admissions, integrated care, substance use outpatient care, and residential care.

“We are incredibly honored and humbled to receive this grant award; it is a game changer for Heritage and our entire community. The health benefits and economic impact to our community will be transformative, empowering Heritage to have the capacity to serve an entire next generation of individuals and families,” said Garrison.

Heritage Behavioral Health Center has been serving people in need of behavioral health services across Macon, DeWitt, and Piatt counties for the last 68 years.