Garner Lands $12 Million Behavioral Health Center

GARNER, NC, March 30, 2011

Strategic Behavioral Health, LLC (SBH) of Memphis, Tenn., announced today that it will build a new residential behavioral center in Garner, representing an investment of over $12 million and more than 250 new jobs. Strategic Behavioral Health President Jim Shaheen said in making the announcement that the recent removal of the Red Route option for I-540 through Garner lifted the final impediment blocking his company's investment in the Garner community.

"The Town of Garner has done a tremendous job in working with us to get our project to this point," Shaheen said. "As the Red Route issue surfaced in the middle of our land search and due diligence, it was the unified effort of the community and its leaders that convinced us to stay and hope that the route would be removed so that we could move forward with this project. We are pleased to be able to build and operate this facility in Garner, as the community leaders have made us feel very welcomed and supported."

Mayor Ronnie Williams hailed Strategic Behavioral Health's decision to commit to Garner. "They're the type of high-end business that will be a long-term community and state asset," Williams said. "The jobs being created - which will have an average annual compensation package of about $50,000 - will range from doctors and nurses to support and administrative positions."

While Shaheen said the decision to locate its second North Carolina facility in Garner is final, the company is still evaluating two separate sites, both in Greenfield Business Park inside town limits. A final site decision is expected to be made within the next 45 days, with construction initiating soon thereafter. The building phase is expected to take 10 to 12 months, and Strategic Behavioral Health plans to open the facility in the summer of 2012.

Strategic Behavioral Health provides high-quality care to clients through a patient-centered team approach. The self-contained campus provides residential care to adolescents ages 12 to 17 with emotional and behavioral disorders. In addition to its other North Carolina location near Wilmington, SBH also operates a facility in Colorado.

For more information on Strategic Behavioral Health, visit http://www.strategicbh.com. For more information on the Town of Garner, visit http://www.garnernc.gov.