Ground Broken on Neuro-Diagnostic Institute

(photo courtesy Community Health Network)

State officials and executives from Community Health Network have broken ground on the $120 million Indiana Neuro-Diagnostic Institute. The institute will replace Larue Carter Hospital, which the state says will be phased out of operation.

The facility, which is expected to open in late 2018 on the Community Hospital East campus, seeks to advance Indiana’s mental health services delivery system.

Governor Mike Pence announced plans for the facility in December. The state says it will have 159 beds and will be able to treat up to 1,500 patients per year..

"This facility will quickly become the envy of the nation, a center of excellence where industry best practices including modern genetic and imaging techniques will result in the most efficient and accurate patient diagnoses possible," said John Wernert, secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration. "The ability to develop better and more comprehensive diagnoses will help determine the best treatment plans, which maximize recovery and promote stable community placements and better outcomes for patients."

The institute will focus on the "precise diagnosis and assertive treatment" of brain-based disorders, such as acute and chronic mental illness, chronic addictions, intellectual and developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury and neuro-degenerative illnesses.

Construction on the facility will begin immediately. The Indiana Neuro-Diagnostic Institute will replace Larue Carter Hospital in Indianapolis, which the state says will be phased out of operation.