Boone Hospital Center locks doors to psychiatric unit
Aug. 26, 2008
After providing Columbia residents with more than 30 years of service, the Boone Hospital Center officially closed its inpatient psychiatric unit on Aug. 15. The closing came less than a month after 48 of the hospital's employees were laid off.
According to a news release issued July 31, the hospital's decision to close the unit and eliminate employee positions was influenced by a weakening economy and reimbursement pressures. In addition, the psychiatric unit was suffering from an ongoing shortage of psychiatrists.
Boone Hospital spokeswoman Kyle Sheafer said closing down the psychiatric unit had nothing to do with money.
"We don't make decisions to close a service based on financial reasons," Sheafer said. "The closing was caused by a shortage of psychiatrists."
According to the release, the unit was no longer going to accept patients after Aug. 15 and would close by the end of the month. Sheafer said things happened ahead of schedule, and the last patient ended up being dismissed on Aug. 15.
Sheafer said all the patients in the unit went through the hospital's normal dismissal process.
"Nobody was transferred out to another facility," she said.
The closing of the psychiatric unit does not mean the hospital will dismiss people seeking psychiatric help. The hospital's cognitive behavioral treatment program, an outpatient therapy program, will remain at the hospital.
The news release also stated the psychiatric unit will be reconfigured to accommodate the hospital's need for additional medical and surgical beds.
Sheafer said "a good portion" of the 48 employees let go were assigned other positions in the hospital by the human resources department.
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