Palmer-Based Baystate Behavioral Health Transitions to CHD, Embraces New Chapter Keeping Care Local

PALMER, Mass.  — Baystate Behavioral Health - Palmer, housed at the Griswold Center on the campus of Baystate Wing Hospital, will transition to the Center for Human Development (CHD), effective August 1, 2026.

CHD, one of the largest and most established behavioral health and social service providers in Western Massachusetts, will maintain the full range of its existing behavioral health services at the location, now under a new name, the CHD Griswold Center, 42 Wright St., Palmer, ensuring continuity of care for patients and families. Baystate Health and CHD are focused on a smooth transition of care. Current patients of Baystate Behavioral Health – Palmer will see no impact on the behavioral health services they receive and will receive direct communication in the coming days about the transition. The CHD Griswold Center will accept all insurances now accepted at Baystate Behavioral Health – Palmer.

All Baystate Behavioral Health – Palmer team members in good standing will be offered comparable positions at CHD, helping to ensure continuity of care for patients and continuity of trusted caregivers within the community.

“This transition was made with thoughtful consideration and with one central goal: advancing the health of our communities by ensuring patients have reliable access to high-quality behavioral health services, now and into the future,” said Scott Lichtenberger, MD, Chief Operating Officer, Baystate Health. “By partnering with CHD, we are entrusting this vital work to a specialized provider who is well-positioned to deliver sustainable, community-based care while preserving the values and commitment that Baystate has upheld for decades.”

Baystate Behavioral Health — Palmer has been a trusted provider of outpatient mental health and addiction recovery services for individuals and families across the Quaboag Hills region, serving Hampshire, Hampden, and Worcester counties. The program receives more than 24,000 visits annually from patients of all ages and in every stage of life.

“We value and appreciate Baystate Health’s actions to sustain outstanding behavioral health services and addiction recovery services along with many other supportive services for the Quaboag region,” said Jim Goodwin, president and CEO of CHD. “And we recognize the strong need for compassionate, accessible and effective services for people and families across this region. We look forward to investing in and growing our presence in this community and working closely with the outstanding care team at Baystate Wing Hospital.”

CHD, founded in 1972, is a nonprofit organization with deep roots in western Massachusetts and Connecticut. CHD delivers a wide range of community-based services, including outpatient clinics, addiction recovery programs, foster care, residential programming, developmental services, early intervention, and child and family advocacy and support. CHD is the state-designated Community Behavioral Health Center for Palmer, Ware, Monson and seven other Western Massachusetts communities stretching west to Southampton and including Chicopee and Holyoke. It recently opened the Prospect Center, a child-, young adult- and family-focused counseling center in East Longmeadow and currently provides in-home Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative services in the Quaboag region and beyond.

About CHD

The Center for Human Development (CHD) provides support to help people, families and communities overcome their challenges and thrive. In 145 New England communities spanning from north-central Massachusetts to western Connecticut, CHD nurtures mental health, recovery, child development, shelter and family stability, healing from trauma, and above all, opportunities to learn, grow and achieve. Since 1972, at CHD, care finds a way.

About Baystate Health

Baystate Health is a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system with hospitals, physician practices, health plan and more serving over 800,000 people throughout western New England. Baystate Health is the safety net provider in Western Massachusetts. With roots dating to the founding of Springfield Hospital in 1883, Baystate Health has been providing high-quality, compassionate and accessible care in the Pioneer Valley for more than 140 years and continues to be a pillar of its community – rooted here, serving here, and helping generations thrive here. With a focus on advancing health for all, Baystate is not only a keystone of the region, it is a national leader in healthcare.