DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Mercy Medical Center wants to build a $31 million psychiatric hospital in the Des Moines area to respond to an extreme shortage of mental health services. The Des Moines Register reports that the new hospital would have 100 beds. Mercy currently has 34 psychiatric beds in its downtown facility. Mercy spokeswoman Laura Vanden Bosch says the facility would be in Polk County, but the specific location hasn’t been determined.

Vanden Bosch says officials hope to have their project proposal before the state Health Facilities Council in July. The council decides whether health care projects are needed or if they’d inflate costs and duplicate available services. Gov. Kim Reynolds recently signed a mental health bill that hopes to address the lack of mental health resources in the area.