News Summary
MetroHealth has announced the closure of its Psychiatric Emergency Department at the Cleveland Heights Medical Center, effective December 31. This decision follows the allocation of $7 million by Cuyahoga County Council for a new crisis center by The Centers. Despite opposition from MetroHealth officials regarding funding cuts, the new center aims to enhance mental health services with a larger capacity for emergency care.
Cleveland Heights
MetroHealth has announced the closure of its Psychiatric Emergency Department (Psych ED) at the Cleveland Heights Medical Center, effective December 31. This decision comes just one year after the department opened in October 2024.
The Cuyahoga County Council recently voted to allocate $7 million for the construction of a new crisis center operated by The Centers, a nonprofit organization. In addition, the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County will redirect $4 million in annual funding from MetroHealth’s Psych ED to support the new crisis center.
MetroHealth officials, including President and CEO Dr. Christine Alexander-Rager, expressed strong opposition to these funding cuts during a recent Cuyahoga County Council meeting. They argued that the plan for The Centers to establish a Psych ED contradicted MetroHealth’s existing services and would result in a duplication of offerings in the area.
The financial struggles of MetroHealth’s Psych ED, which operated at a loss, have been exacerbated by the potential loss of the $4 million annual funding. The Cleveland Heights Psych ED had the capacity to serve 13 patients and was staffed by a team that included psychiatrists, trained nurses, nursing assistants, and social workers.
Following the closure, 35 employees at the Psych ED will be redeployed to other areas within the MetroHealth system. Despite this setback, MetroHealth will continue to provide behavioral health services throughout its operations in the region, which includes both virtual and in-person care.
Additionally, MetroHealth operates a standalone Behavioral Health Hospital that opened in October 2022 with an investment of $42 million and provides various services across multiple emergency departments in the area.
The decision to close the Psych ED aligns with previous closures of psychiatric emergency services in the region, including at the St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center, which ultimately led to the formation of MetroHealth’s facility. However, Cuyahoga County officials dispute MetroHealth’s claim that the county’s funding decisions led to the closure, indicating that the financial and operational challenges were internal to the MetroHealth organization.
The Centers, which is moving forward with the establishment of the new crisis center, has already received $9.3 million from the ADAMHS Board for its project as of November 2024. This new center is set to include a psychiatric emergency room with a capacity for 40 patients, along with pharmacy services and behavioral health urgent care.
Despite the dissolution of the Psych ED, both MetroHealth and The Centers have indicated intentions to collaborate in providing ongoing behavioral health services to the community, aiming to ensure that residents continue to receive necessary mental health care amidst the changes.
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Additional Resources
- WKYC
- Cleveland.com
- Crain’s Cleveland
- Cleveland Jewish News
- Spectrum News
- Wikipedia: Mental Health
- Google Search: Mental Health Cleveland
- Google Scholar: Psychiatric Services Cleveland
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Mental Health
- Google News: MetroHealth Cleveland
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