"Boston Children’s Hospital will build a new $640 million pediatric psychiatric hospital in Brighton, officials announced Wednesday, funded with the largest donation in the hospital’s history. The $100 million gift from Quincy billionaire philanthropists Rob and Karen Hale is the largest donation the couple has made to a single entity. The project has the potential to be transformative for the region’s capacity to offer mental health care, as demand for such services has soared in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“We’re going to change the landscape in the country for childhood psychiatric health, and Children’s is bringing in all the right people, has the vision, has the plans,” Karen Hale told the Globe. “And for us to be able to be a part of that and support it, there’s nothing else that I think we do that is more important.”
The 116-bed building, to be located on the over 10-acre campus of Franciscan Children’s, will house several services beyond inpatient psychiatric care. Those offerings include a partial hospital program and intensive outpatient program, a 14-bedroom acute treatment program, a dental suite, four operating rooms, a pharmacy, outpatient rehabilitation programs, and five outdoor play spaces. The first building is expected to break ground in 2026 and open by 2029, an executive said."