DPH requiring St. V to hold public hearings on or reopen inpatient mental health beds
Telegram & GazetteNov 24, 2021
WORCESTER - The state
"Although the Hospital has asserted that the closure of these beds is temporary due to the ongoing nursing strike, these beds have been closed for more than three months," Health and Human Services Acting Commissioner
"The Department has repeatedly requested that the Hospital provide a date certain for the inpatient behavioral health beds reopening and the Hospital has failed to provide one. In our most recent call, you clearly stated there is no plan in place to reopen the beds. Therefore, at this time, the Department requires that the Hospital begin the essential services process for the closure of the Hospital's inpatient behavioral health services or immediately plan to reopen these essential services."
An essential service is a service defined in statute that a hospital is licensed to provide. When a hospital decides to stop providing such services, it must meet several requirements. These include holding a public hearing and submitting plans to the state on how the services will continue to be provided to the community after the closure.
This process, "provides a mechanism for the
The concerns of the state in this case focus on St. Vincent's behavioral health beds.
According to the letter from the state, the hospital notified officials of its intention to reduce inpatient behavioral health beds from 20 to 10 beds Aug, 2. Ten days later, the state was informed that the hospital intended to close its remaining behavioral health beds
The closures were part of a larger reduction in services at the hospital which has resulted in approximately 100 beds offline. State Reps.
The hospital maintained that the behavioral health bed closings were temporary and that they would be reopening as soon as possible and no later then after the end of the
The strike will surpass the nine-month mark
The hospital's plan also changed, according to the state.
"On
"Following that decision, the Hospital has kept the Department informed of the number of individuals who were at the Hospital, requiring behavioral health beds, and were boarding in the
The state gives St. Vincent 10 days "of its intent to submit notice to close the inpatient behavioral health beds," to begin the essential services process.
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