Cleveland-based MetroHealth System will close its psychiatric emergency department at the Cleveland Heights Medical Center effective Dec. 31; the move will affect 35 employees.
The employees will be redeployed, the health system said in an Oct. 17 news release. MetroHealth cited reduced funding and duplication of services as factors behind the decision.
The move follows a Cuyahoga County Council vote in September approving $7 million in funding for a new behavioral health crisis center. The $4 million MetroHealth received annually from the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County for psychiatric emergency operations is expected to be redirected to support the new facility, according to the release.
The county shared a statement with NBC affiliate WKYC that said, in part, “Cuyahoga County strongly disagrees with MetroHealth’s assertion that the County is responsible for its decision to close its Psychiatric Emergency Department (Psych ED) at the Cleveland Heights Medical Center. That is simply not true. This is an internal operational and financial decision made by MetroHealth’s leadership.”
MetroHealth opened the Cleveland Heights psychiatric emergency department in October 2024, shortly after St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center in Cleveland closed its psychiatric emergency unit. MetroHealth also operates a standalone behavioral health hospital adjacent to the Cleveland Heights site, which opened in October 2022, the release said.
