Completion of state’s newest psychiatric hospital expected soon

The embattled and complicated process to build a new psychiatric hospital in Tuscola County is nearing completion. 

The finishing touches to the 127,000-square foot, 100-bed state hospital that is being built at 2030 Chambers Road are in the process of being done.

According to Tuscola County Controller Administrator Clayette Zechmeister, completion is expected in early spring. The latest estimated date for completion is May.

“It is really looking good out there,” she said. “As of the last report — in December — there were 408 staff members and 98 patients at the soon to be former facility.”

A select few were invited to tour the facility in October 2022. Although Zechmeister was among the few who were invited on the tour, she was not able to attend due to illness.

“We asked if they would consider doing a ribbon cutting and an open house for the public,” said Zechmeister. “I have not heard if they will be doing this.”

Having the new hospital built on the same site as the Caro Center was not an easy process. 

Initially, former Gov. Rick Snyder agreed in 2017 to spend $115 million to build a 225,000-square-foot hospital in Caro with 200 beds. There was even a grand kick off ground breaking for the center. 

More than $3 million between drafting blueprints for the facility and demolishing buildings to make way for new construction had been spent at that point. 

Within weeks of that event, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Department of Health and  Human Services Director Robert Gordon halted construction to perform another feasibility study of whether or not to build a state hospital in Tuscola County. Due to that, Tuscola officials had to work again to convince the state Caro was the best place for the new hospital.

Eventually when the state finally agreed to build the hospital in Tuscola, it was only about half the size of the facility that was originally planned. The psychiatric facility’s size went from 225,000-square-feet with 200 beds down to 127,000-square-feet with 100 beds, despite there being a grave need for at least more than 400 state hospital beds.  

The Caro Center complex dates back to 1914 when it was the Caro Farm Colony for Epileptics. Since then the site has had several different name changes before it became the Caro Center.