AltaPointe Health told the Mobile County Commission on Sept. 18 that it is expanding its Bay Point psychiatric hospital from 104 to 138 beds and expects the project to be completed in May 2026. Turk Schlesinger, CEO of AltaPointe Health, told commissioners the expansion will add adult beds to the facility and create additional residential capacity for children and adolescents.

The project has a total cost of $15 million, Schlesinger said, and AltaPointe has already invested $6 million and is arranging borrowing for the remainder. “The project is on track to be completed in May 2026,” Schlesinger said. He also said, “We probably have already exhausted our ARPA funding for the area,” and asked whether any additional county funding might be available.

The expansion is part of AltaPointe’s broader effort to increase behavioral health capacity in the region. Schlesinger said AltaPointe already hosts a Mobile County probate court presence at the Bay Point facility and praised partnerships with Probate Judge Mark Erwin and a separate initiative led by Judge Pipes to address mental health locally. AltaPointe also noted it is one of two certified community behavioral health centers (CCBHCs) in Alabama — the other named as Wellstone in Huntsville — which the provider said improves access to outpatient care.

Commissioner [unnamed] told Schlesinger the expansion addresses a “tremendous need” in the community, noting the region’s loss of acute psychiatric beds and the lack of local hospitals accepting adult psychiatric patients. Schlesinger described AltaPointe’s regional footprint and outpatient expansions, including new or planned locations in Citronelle, Saraland, Bayou La Batre, West Mobile near Providence Hospital, and on Highway 90 West.

Schlesinger asked the commission to consider any remaining discretionary funding that could support the project; no formal appropriation was requested or decided at the Sept. 18 conference. No vote or action item on the expansion was taken during the conference; Schlesinger delivered the update during the session’s scheduled presentation.

The commission and AltaPointe agreed to continue coordination on the project timeline, regulatory and court partnerships, and community outreach. AltaPointe reiterated that the Bay Point expansion will increase local capacity for adults and children seeking psychiatric care, reducing the need for some patients to travel out of county or out of state.

Less immediate details — such as exact financing terms for the borrowing, the planned number of new adult versus pediatric beds, and whether any additional county ARPA or other funds will be committed — were not specified during the presentation.

The commission requested no immediate action and said it would follow up in subsequent meetings if county funding or formal agreements are proposed.