ASHEVILLE – Mission Hospital welcomes our new Medical Director for Behavioral Health, M. Ed Kelley, MD. Dr. Kelley is currently working with the Behavioral Health team at Mission Hospital and will transition along with that team to the new campus later this summer. Sweeten Creek Mental Health & Wellness Center is slated to open in August. 

Dr. Kelley joins Mission Hospital after spending 24 years in Lewiston, ME, where he was Chief of Behavioral Health at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. 

“I am really excited about the new Sweeten Creek Mental Health and Wellness Center. The prospect of being part of the team from the very start is an amazing opportunity. The whole program is exciting, from the new hospital, the opportunity to work with medical students and residents in psychiatry to the robust hospital-based Behavioral Health Services, said Dr. Kelley. I am a big believer in continuity of care - having providers in the ER, medical units, inpatient behavioral health units and IOP/PHP really gives us a chance to support our patients no matter where they are in our care.”

One of HCA Healthcare’s early commitments to Western North Carolina was to build a new behavioral health hospital for the region and construction of this significant project is nearly complete. 

This 120-bed facility will bring 38 additional and much needed behavioral health beds to our region, offering advanced inpatient and outpatient mental health services. There, our Mission team will care for patients ranging from pediatric (as young as four) through geriatric. These patients will have access to new healing environments with support elements such as outdoor courtyards, an indoor gymnasium, a horticulture area, music therapy, and art therapy for a more holistic healing process. 

“Mental Health needs are some of the most underserved illnesses in all of medicine. Mission Hospital’s new facility will help in giving our patients the respect and dignity that they deserve. Outdoor spaces, dining halls, indoor gymnasium and gardening areas are all a huge step in giving patients a healing experience - very different from traditional inpatient hospital wards,” said Dr. Kelley. The new site has amazing natural light, improved safety features and will give our already wonderful staff an environment to truly give the care that our patients need. 

Dr. Kelley and his wife, Dani, are avid trail riders and are enjoying their new home here in Western North Carolina. They have three wonderful sons and are huge animal lovers. “We have a small farm with four horses, five cats, a dog, two parrots and a turtle,” said Dr. Kelley. 

The team at Mission Hospital is excited to welcome Dr. Kelley! 

Source: Mission Health