NORTHVILLE, Mich. — State leaders on Wednesday, Oct. 7, dedicated the new Southeast Michigan Psychiatric Hospital on Haggerty Road in Northville Township near Northville, Mich., a $383 million complex that will begin taking patients at the end of October.
The hospital stands on the site of the former Hawthorn Center, which opened in 1965 and was torn down to make room for the new building. It will also replace the Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland, which opened in 1979 and will be phased out as patients move to the Northville Township campus.
According to a fact sheet handed out at the dedication, the building covers 406,000 square feet and holds 264 beds in 231 patient rooms. State officials have said the opening adds 54 beds to Michigan’s overall psychiatric capacity. Hospital director Mary Clare Sulkey said that once it opens, it will be the only psychiatric hospital in the state that serves children.
The complex serves patients of all ages but keeps separate living and program areas for children and adults, with shared administration and food service meant to save money. Plans call for a gymnasium, art rooms and sensory spaces. Beyond psychiatric treatment, the hospital will offer minor procedures, dental care, eye care and dietary consulting, along with two courtyards, outdoor play areas for children and a chapel.
State Sen. Sarah Anthony, a Lansing Democrat who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, attended the dedication. Her office said she helped secure $33.8 million in the 2027 state budget to begin operating the hospital, money expected to bring about 72 new beds online in the first phase of expanded operations this fiscal year, 35 for adults and 37 for children.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in a video message shown at the event, said the facility will help improve health outcomes for generations while acknowledging more work remains on behavioral health access.
