A State’s First Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility for Teens
For nearly two decades, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and its partners have worked to create a comprehensive pediatric behavioral health care system – from prevention services in schools through acute, inpatient care for young people in severe crisis.
One of the missing pieces, however, had been a facility to serve youth who are transitioning from hospital settings, but who need to continue their recovery process and maintain stability before returning to their homes.
Now, The Buckeye Ranch, in collaboration with Nationwide Children’s, has opened a first in Ohio: the Hope Treatment Center, which is the state’s only Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) for teens.
“More than five years ago, we recognized a critical gap in care for youth experiencing mental health crisis,” said Vickie Thompson-Sandy, president and CEO of The Buckeye Ranch. “Too many children were being sent out of state for treatment, separated from their families and communities during their most vulnerable moments.
The Hope Treatment Center changes that. It ensures children can receive the care that they need here in Ohio, close to home, surrounded by the support and treatment that they need on their path toward lasting healing.”
The new 57,000-square-foot building provides specialized, around-the-clock care for up to 48 children who need psychiatric support at a level that is a step down from an inpatient hospital setting, before returning home to their families. This $35 million project increases The Buckeye Ranch’s capacity to serve nearly 100 youth on the Residential Treatment Services Grove City campus.
“On any given day, 140 children have had to seek intensive services outside of Ohio. . .or they have had to remain in inpatient psychiatric care rooms far longer than clinically necessary,” said Tim Robinson, CEO of Nationwide Children’s. “The Hope Treatment Center now gives us what I would argue is the most coordinated behavioral health system of care in the United States.”
Nationwide and the Nationwide Foundation have long been partners to both Nationwide Children’s and The Buckeye Ranch, and the foundation contributed $2.5 million to the New Hope Treatment Center project.
“This partnership between The Buckeye Ranch and Nationwide Children’s Hospital is proof of what is possible when we unite around a common purpose to give every child the chance to heal, to thrive, and to dream again,” said Kirt Walker, Nationwide’s CEO.
Published December 2025
“More than five years ago, we recognized a critical gap in care for youth experiencing mental health crisis. Too many children were being sent out of state for treatment, separated from their families and communities during their most vulnerable moments. The Hope Treatment Center changes that. It ensures children can receive the care that they need here in Ohio, close to home, surrounded by the support and treatment that they need on their path toward lasting healing.”
