Valleywise Health is reopening 15 inpatient behavioral health beds at its Maryvale hospital this week.

The beds were closed in 2022 due to staffing challenges that have plagued the health care industry, a press release notes.

“We have been eager to reopen these beds to care for patients challenged by serious mental illness,” Gene Cavallo, Behavioral Health SVP, stated. “This is another step on our journey to reopening beds impacted by severe staffing shortages that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Valleywise Health is the largest provider of court-ordered inpatient behavioral health care in Arizona, with 412 licensed beds at three hospitals in Mesa, Maryvale, and Central Phoenix. Labor shortages led to the closure of three wings of the Maryvale hospital. In response, Valleywise Health launched an aggressive recruiting campaign with sign-on bonuses for psychiatric nurses, technicians, and other staff members.

The Valleywise Health plan is to continue reopening the shuttered units at its Maryvale hospital over the next 12 to 18 months.

“Thanks to our hiring efforts and the hard work of many Valleywise Health staff members, we are pleased to have enough caregivers in place to create more inpatient mental health care capacity in our community,” Cavallo stated.

Valleywise Health is also training new psychiatrists. Through the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance, Valleywise Health has a psychiatric residency program that graduates eight adult and four child psychiatrists every year, Cavallo added.