Truman Medical Center closing behavioral health ER

Truman Medical Center has announced that it has closed its behavioral health emergency room at its mental health center on East 24th Street and shifted its services to the main emergency room of the hospital.

Truman took over operation of the behavioral health emergency room from the state in 2009 when it was known as the Western Missouri Mental Health Center. It has served about 30,000 patients in the past six years.

Truman decided to close the ER after state and federal regulators said it would have to staff and equip the facility as a full-service medical emergency room, Truman spokesman Shane Kovac said.

“That’s a big challenge,” Kovac said. “It just made more sense to shut this down.”

Psychiatric patients who come to Truman’s emergency room and need to be admitted to the mental health center will be taken by ambulance or hospital security the approximately 500 yards to the center, Kovac said.

Patients in behavioral health inpatient units at Truman’s Hospital Hill and Lakewood campuses will be unaffected by the ER closure, the hospital said. Inpatient units will remain open and community outpatient services will continue. Staff members currently working in the behavioral health emergency room will be given the opportunity to fill other positions at Truman, the hospital said.

Kovac suggested that the ER’s closure might be a catalyst for the creation of a crisis intervention center in Kansas City. Such a facility has been under discussion by mental health advocates.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Truman Medical Center closing behavioral health ER."