>>> Prodense behavioral health hospital announced they are
discontinuing in-patient psychiatric services.
The Holyoke based hospital part of mercy medical center
announced in march the final day is June 30th.
I spoke by phone with Cindy Chaplin who has been a nurse at
providence behavioral health for half of her 42-year career.
>> We serve the most vulnerable patients in all of medicine.
Most of the folks don't have a support system.
There's a lot of stigma around mental health issues and mental
illness, itself, and we really are continuously trying to
improve the lives for these people, and now they fit in
ERs and wait for days for beds because there's never enough
beds, and now with our closing, they will even wait longer.
They are waiting in areas that are exposed to other people, and
they are at their probably lowest point, if they are in the
emergency room, so they may be acting out or may be suicidal,
and they don't get -- no one talks to them for days because
emergency rooms just isn't equipped to do therapy and to
help people like that. They are really there to
stabilize a little bit and send them to the psychiatric
hospitals. We, at providence behavioral
health, had the only children's in-patient unit in both central
and western Massachusetts, and these children are really the
sickest of the sick, and they are the most vulnerable.
They don't really have a voice, and sometimes they suffered
severe abuse, and they are in the foster care system, and it's
just really sad for them that they already have to wait to be
in a hospital, and now they have to go either to Connecticut
hearthford, Vermont and then the families can't be with them.
>> Glad you raised the issue of children.
I wanted to ask specifically, this is the loss of GERIATRIC
beds and children beds, but they are the most vulnerable in the
proposal? >> Oh, yes.
The lack of children's beds throughout the state has always
been an issue. A lot of advocacy groups promote
nonhospitalization of children because it is traumatizing, but
sometimes they really need it to get stabilized on medications
and to get therapy with the families at the same time, and
without that bridge together, they are going to get lost in
the system, and a lot of them are going to land up in juvenile
court because they become assaultive after having trauma.
They have a lot of rage. They land up hurting people so I
they are placed in CYF, no place for them.
>> We invited them on the program to discuss their
perspective, and we hope they take us up on the offer, but
they said the move is necessary because there's a shortage of
psychiatrists and doctors to serve these people.
If the doctors are not there, how are you going to -- how do
you -- how do you remedy that? >> Well, it's funny you should
ask that because I get spam e-mail at work, you know,
different recruiting agencies, you need a job, and so I
answered one of the recruiters about a month ago and said, yes,
I need psychiatrists, and they sent me back three resumés for
two nurse practitioners and a psychiatrist that would love to
work at providence behavioral health hospital.
I'm just answering a spam mail that I had no idea who the
recruiter was or what their business line was, but I
received an answer that there was a psychiatrist with 7 years
experience willing to work at the hospital, I'm not sure how
hard they looked. I'm not sure how much effort
they put into it. I'm not sure if the compensation
was very adequate. Bay state doesn't have an issue
with psychiatrist, no other hospital has issue withs
psychiatrist, noble does not have an issue with
psychiatrists, bay state Franklin medical center does not
have an issue with psychiatrist, only providence has an issue
with hiring and retaining psychiatrists so there's
something off there. >> In the terms of your job and
colleagues, in terms of people if this goes forward, close sure
on June 30th, will be out of work, and in previous press
reports, the hospital system said they would help -- there
would be a comprehensive job placement program for you and
others. Have you tried to use that?
>> Well, their comprehensive plan fell through because of
Covid-19. A lot of places are not hiring,
and they just started to hire, but there's no severance package
for any of the people that are getting laid off.
I'm very fortunate I'm moving to the detox unit so I will not
lose my job, but there's many people that have been there for
years that will be losing their job, and maybe about five or six
have gotten a job at mercy, and maybe two at Johnson, and the
rest are really looking to collect unemployment and don't
have any job offers. >> So do you know of those 200
that we thought might lose their jobs how many at this point are
slated to lose their job? >> All of the 200 is going to
lose, the total is 400 and there's half of us staying and
the other half are gone as of the 30th.
>> As I understand it, the department of public health when
this was first announced said there needs to be a 90-day
distinnuation notice and hearing, did that take place?
>> It was by phone because of Covid-19, so it did take place.
There was a number of psychiatrists calling in, a
number of families, every single person who called in said this
was really unfortunate, that it was a hindrance, and really a
detriment to our community by losing these beds, and the head
of one of bay state psychiatrists called in and said
prodense should not close, and he's a competitor, because of
the type of patients we take. We take any patient that is in
behavior health crisis, no matter how violent they are, no
matter situation of payment, if they have insurance, don't have
insurance, we are kind of the last leg of hospitals that do
that. Other hospitals sometimes don't
have the staff to control a very chaotic unit, but we were always
cohesive, and we worked very well together to do that, and
now I'm not sure where these very ill people will be able to
go. >> Is it possible they go to
Holyoke medical center as they filed plans to expand its
behavioral health. Could they be served there in
the future? >> They possibly could in the
future depending on, again, if they partner with a for-profit
agency, which is that's what they are looking for, most of
our parents are medicaid, medicare, and they pay very
little. You know, usually a for-profit
institution wants regular based insurance, not your amass health
and medicare patients. >> We have been talking about
providence behavioral hospital, but this issue of beds closing
or beds consolidating, consolidating services is not
new to the region, and whether I'm covering the issue in
Berkshires, Franklin County, there seems to be a real tug for
these types of services in western Massachusetts.
Do you know why that is? Do you have a sense?
You've been in the industry for
behavioral health and more than
>> Well, behavioral health is typically not funded as well as
if you're doing someone's total knee or a surgery for a patient,
and insurance companies pay a lot more for that.
Doctors get the bill for that. When you're in behavioral
health, it's one lump sum per day.
It doesn't matter how much services the person needs.
They could need medication every hour and five people to sit with
them. They would pay the same amount
as if the person who is very quiet and reserved and doesn't
need a lot of medication, though there's really never been an
ability to really put the revenue that is generated back
into saving these beds because they are just trying to stay
afloat. >> What are the next steps for
you as the plan calls for closure is June 30th?
>> I am fortunate enough to be moving to the detox unit.
There are going to be two units, in and out patient areas open,
so the clinic remains open, outpatient services we have with
brightside remains open, and then the detox and step down
from detox will remain open. >> I know you've been a strong
advocate. Is your hope the decision is
reversed, or do you think it is inevitable this will close?
>> My hope is it reverses, but I guess on July 1st, I will
probably be saying good-bye to many people, and going down to
my detox unit. I don't, at this point, see how
they could keep it open because they let go of all of the people
as of June 30th so they let go all of the doctors, nurse
practitioners so we would not be able to stay open.