Sheppard Pratt Health System said it has reached a three-year agreement with Peninsula Regional Medical Center of Salisbury to manage the hospital's 17-bed inpatient adult mental health unit.
Sheppard Pratt and the medical center would not disclose the financial terms of the agreement.
As part of the deal, Sheppard Pratt, the largest provider of behavioral health care services in Maryland, will manage the 7-year-old unit's clinical and administrative operations.
The unit's program director, social worker and two therapists will become Sheppard Pratt employees, but the nursing staff, technicians and other workers will remain with the hospital, said Bill Elliott, the unit's mental health services program director.
Sheppard Pratt also will provide a medical director, he said.
"What drove this partnership initially is Sheppard Pratt's fine reputation and its experience working with other clinics and hospitals in Central Maryland," Elliott said.
The 17-bed unit's occupancy rate averages about 10 patients, he said.
Holly Maddux Bartlett, a Sheppard Pratt spokeswoman, said contracting out its services is a growth area for the behavioral health care provider.
"In this environment of managed care, Sheppard Pratt has had to seek ways to expand its delivery of services beyond the Towson hospital, which is historically our main program," Bartlett said.
