Nevada Department of Human Services’ Division of Child and Family Services will temporarily pause operations on the psychiatric residential treatment facility units at the 54-bed, Las Vegas-based Desert Willow Treatment Center beginning Oct. 10. The facility is not closing, and its Competency Restoration Unit will remain open.
The pause is due to the lack of a CEO for the hospital and other clinical leadership positions, according to the division’s response to Becker’s. The division said the pause is necessary to complete the overhaul of the center’s treatment model and that the decision was made “after thorough consideration of all options.”
A phased reopening will begin in approximately six months. Exact timing will depend on hiring key leadership staff and a complete redesign of the clinical program, therapeutic model, behavioral interventions, operational policies, training systems, onboarding process and supervision models.
The census on the psychiatric residential treatment facility units has been low because of a Medicaid admissions moratorium, according to the division. The division will ensure youth have safe transitions into the appropriate levels of care.
Sixty-three staff are affected by the pause. The division said “some probationary staff were released from probation, some probationary staff were transferred to different positions within the department and some permanent staff were laid off.”
The division is still determining final details of the overhaul.
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