Jefferson Abington (Pa.) Hospital has closed its inpatient behavioral health unit and converted the 23 beds into an emergency department surge unit, according to a Nov. 19 report from The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The hospital will continue providing crisis stabilization and psychiatric evaluations for patients experiencing mental health emergencies, as well as outpatient behavioral health services. A spokesperson declined to specify when the transition occurred or whether any staff were laid off.
The change comes as part of broader restructuring efforts across Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, a 32-hospital system. The health system laid off between 600 and 700 of its 65,000 employees in October and reported a $104 million operating loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended in September, driven largely by its insurance business, according to the report.
The hospital’s now-closed psychiatric unit treated 350 patients in 2024, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The spokesperson also declined to share where the hospital will transfer future psychiatric inpatients.
The closure hits amid rising behavioral health cases across the state. In a 2023 report, 19.3% of adults in Pennsylvania reported depression, marking a 4% rise from 2022. Another survey from Allentown-based Muhlenberg College found Pennsylvanians were less likely to report improved mental health in 2025 than in 2024. Some experts have pointed to EmPATH units as a solution, which triage behavioral health patients in emergency rooms into a calmer environment for treatment.
