Related: Mental services for teens avert cuts
"Psychiatric care for youth may be at risk, state says" by Chelsea Conaboy | Globe Staff, May 24, 2013
The psychiatry beds that Cambridge Health Alliance plans to eliminate in budget-cutting efforts are critical to “preserving access and health status” for children and teens across Eastern Massachusetts, a Department of Public Health official determined after a state review.
The health care system announced in April that it would consolidate separate psychiatry units on its Cambridge Hospital campus, one serving adolescents ages 12 to 19 and another for children as young as 3, reducing the total number of beds from 27 to 16. It would also stop serving the youngest children, beginning treatment at age 8.
People who spoke at a hearing earlier this month overwhelmingly opposed the change, condemning the continued decline in resources for children and teenagers with acute mental illness and lauding as exceptional the care that Cambridge Health Alliance provides.
The hospital system, which includes Somerville and Whidden hospitals, has been facing financial trouble in recent years, including an overall loss of $28.5 million for the 12 months ended June 2012.
The state has no power to stop the proposed cuts, but the Department of Public Health conducts a review to allow public review of changes to what are deemed essential health services. In March, after heavy scrutiny during such a review, Partners HealthCare said it would reduce proposed cuts to inpatient mental health services at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital....
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