NORWALK — Nuvance Health wants to end inpatient mental health services at Norwalk Hospital, focusing on intensive outpatient care and referring others to Danbury Hospital for inpatient treatment.
Nuvance Health, which owns Norwalk and Danbury hospitals, met with the state Office of Health Strategy on Wednesday to discuss a hospital proposal to close inpatient mental health services. The meeting, including an hour-long public hearing, lasted about four hours.
In a January application to the Office of Health Strategy, the hospital sought permission to end inpatient mental health treatment, with plans to expand emergency department mental health services and increase accessibility to intensive outpatient programs and adolescent services in Norwalk.
As part of the request, Nuvance said Norwalk Hospital’s inpatient mental health unit is no longer needed as the facility continues to work with telehealth services, an expansion of connections with local outpatient services and the establishment of programs to educate future generations of psychiatrists and psychologists, among other reasons.
“In January 2021, the Norwalk Hospital Board of Trustees and subsequently the Nuvance Health Board of Trustees approved the plan to close the Norwalk Hospital Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, expand services and Norwalk Hospital Outpatient Programs, Norwalk Hospital Emergency Department Renovation, and Inpatient Psychiatry Consolidation. services at Danbury Hospital,” the application reads.
Plans to cut the hospital’s inpatient mental health services had been underway since a 2016 internal assessment of psychiatric care, according to the app. Nuvance Health was established in 2019 and further review was done.
“Recommendations included the expansion of telepsychiatry services to improve the management of behavioral health patients and the continued expansion of integrated care into network primary care practices to better support and increase patient access to behavioral health and reduce crisis events,” reads the application history. “Nuvance Health also determined that there was a need to expand IOPs to increase access to higher acuity outpatient psychiatric care.”
Norwalk Hospital’s inpatient mental health unit has underperformed for years, according to Dr. Charles Herrick, president of psychiatry for Nuvance Health.
“The current average volume is seven to eight patients and has historically hovered around nine to 10 for the past 15 years as patients can access other services in the area,” Herrick said. “They go to Hall-Brook (mental health services), Silver Hill (hospital) or independent facilities, Stamford, Bridgeport, many ask to go to Yale and it has a lot to do with the care environment.”
According to the application documents, hospitals in Stamford, Bridgeport, Silver Hill and Hall-Brook are among seven facilities that provide psychiatric care to inpatients within a 24-mile radius of Norwalk Hospital.
By ending inpatient services, Norwalk Hospital can devote more time and resources to improving outpatient services within and associated with the hospital and improve the emergency department response of the hospital. institution to mental health crises, Herrick said.
For inpatient services that may be required by patients at Norwalk Hospital, a referral will be made and transportation will be provided to Danbury Hospital, Herrick said.
The proposal would also bring financial benefits, as a day of hospital care can cost a few thousand dollars while a day in an IOP typically costs between $200 and $300.
“The proposal aims to enable more cost-effective healthcare delivery in the region via two overlapping components,” the proposal documents state. Components include the expansion of outpatient services and the consolidation of inpatient psychiatric services at Danbury Hospital.
Nuvance said the move will expand mental health care at Norwalk while focusing on prevention before an acute mental health crisis occurs, which would also allow facilities and patients to avoid costly hospital stays. , said Nuvance Health CEO and President Dr. John Murphy.
“The model we’re proposing tries to ensure that we get patients the care they need before they get to the emergency room or need to be hospitalized,” Murphy said. “Often, I think these confessions are regrettable. If the care had been given sooner, it might have been avoided. This model will provide patients with care much earlier in the onset of anything, even anxiety or depression. This model allows us to provide them with care much earlier before they have to wait, get frustrated and go to the emergency room in a crisis.
Concerns expressed by Office of Health Strategy commissioners included access and transportation to inpatient services in nearby facilities and municipalities, the state of mental health care in the emergency department of the Norwalk Hospital and how the hospital plans to meet the mental health needs of adolescents.
The decision to close Norwalk Hospital’s inpatient mental health services is part of a $220 million renovation and expansion project set to be completed by 2026, new buildings to include a large maternity ward.
Abigail Brone can be contacted at abigail.brone@hearstmédiact.com.
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