West Springs Hospital has closed. What’s next for crisis mental health care in Grand Junction?

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The only inpatient psychiatric hospital between Salt Lake City and Denver closed earlier this month due to underutilization, “financial challenges,” and the uncertain future of Medicaid. 

West Springs Hospital closed March 10, transfering or discharging patients to other providers and facilities. According to Mind Springs Health, the provider that ran WSH, the average daily number of patients admitted at the psychiatric hospital was 30 or fewer over the last six years. The facility was licensed for 48 beds.

Therapy, withdrawal management and residential treatment facilities at Mind Springs are not affected, according to a statement about the closure from the company. As part of the inpatient services at West Springs being shut down, all the employees were fired, and all the patients were moved to other providers or discharged.

In an email to Rocky Mountain PBS, the organization wrote it’s not able to name the facilities patients were transferred to for privacy reasons.

Last year, the psychiatric hospital was short millions of dollars, according to the Daily Sentinel. Much of those cash flow issues were due to the hospital only receiving partial and delayed Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements, and patients on the Western Slope being referred to care in the Denver area by their insurers because it was cheaper. 

In 2022, whistleblowers told Colorado News Collaborative Mind Springs falsified patient records in an effort to make its treatment seem more effective and receive more money from the state.

At the time, Mind Springs didn’t respond to calls and emails from Colorado News Collaborative reporters about the allegations. Various state investigations did not directly address those claims, but found a lack of transparency, and that services provided often didn’t match the communities’ needs, according to the Denver Post.

Mind Springs Health also closed its withdrawal management facility in Glenwood Springs on the same day West Springs shut down. The Post Independent reports the $1.8 million facility was only open for eight months.

Just this month, providers at Lifespan Psychiatry in Grand Junction have seen an increase in the volume of patients needing immediate help.

“If someone's psychotic or someone's suicidal, the last thing they need to be told is that you have to wait for an appointment to be seen,” said Carrie Shahbahrami, psychiatric nurse practitioner and owner of Lifespan Psychiatry. 

After the closure of West Springs Hospital, patients needing emergency, or crisis-level, mental health care will likely be taken to the emergency room at St. Mary’s Regional Hospital or Community Hospital.

Rocky Mountain PBS reached out to St. Mary’s for comment, but did not hear back.

“Imagine if there's a psychotic patient in the emergency room, they require more staff supervision for their safety and the safety of others,” said Shahbahrami.

Lifespan is an essential safety net provider, meaning they will see patients regardless of insurance or ability to pay. They’re working on licensure through the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration to become a 24/7 crisis center, to help fill the gap left by West Springs.

According to the 988 Colorado website, the closest facility of that kind is Axis Health crisis center in Montrose. 

Right now, Shahbahrami says more patients have to be taken from western Colorado to the Front Range for inpatient psychiatric care. Finding placements and transporting patients can be difficult, especially when storms shut down Interstate 70, delaying travel and temporarily isolating the region from access to care. 

The closure of West Springs was announced Feb. 24. Employees likely found out about the closure that same day. 

According to the Colorado Department of Labor website, 187 people were laid off from West 

Springs, including 47 people listed as mental health workers, and 37 registered nurses. 

Companies are required by law to tell employees about mass layoffs two months ahead of time. In a letter to the state department of labor, West Springs said it did not provide 60 days notice “because West Springs Hospital has been actively seeking capital or business which, if

obtained, would have enabled West Springs Hospital to avoid or postpone the shutdown.”