Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines will seek state approval to build a $31 million psychiatric hospital in the Des Moines area, the Des Moines Register reported. The proposed free-standing hospital would have 100 beds — triple the 34 psychiatric beds that Mercy now has at its medical center downtown. Mercy said a specific location for the hospital hasn’t been determined, other than it would be located within Polk County. The Register cited a letter of intent to the State Health Facilities Council — which is expected to consider the project at its July meeting — in which Mercy President Karl Keeler said the project would be undertaken “in partnership with a national health system.” Des Moines currently has 156 psychiatric beds available; a net increase of 66 beds would increase that number by 42 percent. In May 2017, Mercy received approval to launch a residency program this summer to provide a training pipeline for new psychiatrists to address a chronic shortage of providers in Iowa. UnityPoint Health-Des Moines is also starting a psychiatry residency program this summer in collaboration with Broadlawns Medical Center.