Planned Closing of Massachusetts Mental Hospital Called ‘Significant Decrease’ in Services

CareGroup Healthcare System, Massachusetts' second largest health system, is planning to close Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, which would eliminate 42 inpatient beds reserved for mental health patients, the Boston Globe reports. The hospital, which treats 1,600 patients each year for psychiatric illnesses, eating disorder and substance abuse problems, lost $8 million in operating expenses last year, prompting the closure. The facility's inpatient program for eating disorders is the only one in Massachusetts, and most of the hospital's beds are typically full, Dr. Samuel Rabinson, chief of psychiatry at the hospital, said. CareGroup put the hospital up for sale in June, but no buyer has come forth yet. Marylou Sudders, the Massachusetts commissioner of mental health, said that if the hospital closes, it will be a "significant decrease" in the availability of mental health services in the state. Sudders added that in the last four years, the number of beds for psychiatric patients has decreased by 9.5% to 2,000 beds (Sweeney, Boston Globe, 1/17).