Signature Psychiatric Hospital announced it will close two facilities in Northland, citing the expiration of its lease on the North Kansas City Hospital campus. The announcement, sent to Missouri Department of Labor officials on Friday, means other mental health care providers will have to absorb the impact of the monthly burden of 92 inpatient beds and 150 outpatients that Signature provided at North Kansas City Hospital and Liberty Hospital. According to a termination notice sent to Missouri officials by Acadia Healthcare’s CEO, 124 full-time employees and 30 part-time employees will lose their jobs. Signature’s parent company, Acadia, was recently featured in a New York Times investigation that reported that Acadia facilities were holding patients longer than medically necessary and overcharging them for services. An Acadia Healthcare spokesman said the article’s allegations were inaccurate and that “decisions regarding patient care, such as extending the duration of treatment, are not business decisions made by the company.” The Times is standing by its reporting. Two sources told KMBC 9 that inspectors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services visited Signature’s Kansas City facility last week, which is under investigation. Acadia Healthcare spokesman Tim Blair said the inspectors were on site for “routine investigative activities” that are unrelated to the closure. Signature’s closure affects two locations Blair also noted that the closure comes as North Kansas City Hospital reclaims space that Signature had rented to help with the hospital’s expansion. “Signature has been in contract negotiations with its North Kansas City hospital partners for several months, a timeline that is unrelated to the Times story,” Blair said. Blair added that the closure of the North Kansas City facility, which serves as an administrative base for Signature’s two locations, closes Signature’s presence at Liberty Hospital. North Kansas City Hospital spokeswoman Amy Shemenauer said in an emailed statement that Signature notified the hospital that it would close operations by Oct. 18. “North Kansas City Hospital and Meritus Health are committed to providing mental and behavioral health services to the community while supporting whole-person care and working with high-quality local and regional partners on a not-for-profit basis,” she said. But the statement did not directly address how North Kansas City Hospital will refer inpatients to mental health services through its emergency department going forward. Additional questions were not immediately answered. Liberty Hospital spokeswoman Michelle Manuel said the hospital’s emergency department will continue to provide mental health evaluations through a separate independent contractor. “We will continue to provide psychiatric consultations in our emergency department,” Manuel said. “As part of our health system, we will ensure that patients who come to the emergency department and need emergency behavioral health care continue to receive that care,” Manuel added. Liberty Hospital and the University of Kansas Health System will work with patients who need mental health care to connect them to the right resources. Tom Petrizzo, CEO of Beacon Mental Health, which provides outpatient services in the Northland, said Signature’s closure could force patients to travel further for treatment. “I think it’s going to be kind of a domino effect of people who may need inpatient psychiatric services having to seek care in more outpatient or community settings,” Petrizzo said. He said he hopes the closure of both locations for inpatient care will be a temporary void and an opportunity to rethink how mental health services are delivered in the Northland, including the possibility of a new 24/7 crisis center like those in other parts of the Kansas City metropolitan area. “It’s an opportunity to build something new here,” Petrizzo said. Psychiatrists with tips for Signature are welcome to contact them at [email protected].
Signature Psychiatric Hospital announced it will close two Northland locations after its lease on the North Kansas City hospital campus expired.
The announcement, sent to Missouri Department of Labor officials on Friday, means other mental health providers will have to absorb the impact of the 92 inpatient beds and 150 outpatient visits each month that Signature provided at North Kansas City Hospital and Liberty Hospital.
According to a layoff notice sent to Missouri state officials by Acadia Healthcare’s CEO, 124 full-time and 30 part-time employees will lose their jobs.
Signature’s parent company, Acadia, was recently featured in a New York Times investigation that found Acadia facilities were keeping patients longer than medically necessary and charging high prices for services.
An Acadia Healthcare spokesman said the claims in the article were inaccurate, saying, “Decisions about patient care, including how long treatment will take, are never business decisions made by the company.”
The Times is standing by its reporting.
Two sources told KMBC 9 Investigates that inspectors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services visited Signature’s Kansas City location last week.
Acadia Healthcare spokesman Tim Blair said inspectors were on site for “routine investigative activities” unrelated to the closure.
Signature closure affects two places
Blair also noted that the closure comes as North Kansas City Hospital is reclaiming space that Signature had leased to support the hospital’s expansion.
“Signature has been in contract negotiations with its North Kansas City hospital partners for several months, which predates and is unrelated to the Times article,” Blair said.
Blair added that the closure of the North Kansas City site, which serves as the administrative center for both Signature locations, forced the company to close Signature’s site at Liberty Hospital as well.
North Kansas City Hospital spokeswoman Amy Shemenauer said in an emailed statement that Signature notified the hospital it would be closing its operations by Oct. 18.
“North Kansas City Hospital and Meritus Health are committed to working with quality local and regional partners to support whole person care on a not-for-profit basis and provide mental and behavioral health services to the community,” she said.
However, the statement did not directly address how North Kansas City Hospital will refer patients admitted through its emergency department to mental health services going forward.
Additional questions were not immediately answered.
Liberty Hospital spokeswoman Michelle Manuel said the hospital’s emergency department will continue to provide mental health evaluations through a separate independent contractor.
“We will continue to offer psychiatric consultations in our emergency department,” Manuel said, “as part of our health care system, to ensure that patients who need emergency behavioral health care who come to our emergency department can continue to receive that care.”
Manuel added that Liberty Hospital and the University of Kansas Health System will work with patients who need mental health care and refer them to appropriate resources.
Tom Petrizzo, CEO of Beacon Mental Health, which provides outpatient services in the Northland, said Signature’s closure could force patients to travel further away for treatment.
“I suspect there will be a kind of domino effect where people who need inpatient psychiatric care will be forced to seek treatment in outpatient or community facilities,” Petrizzo said.
He said he hopes the closure of both facilities for inpatient care will provide a temporary gap and an opportunity to rethink how mental health services are delivered in the Northland, including potentially establishing new 24/7 crisis centers like those in other parts of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
“This is an opportunity to build something new here,” Petrizzo said.
If you have any tips about Signature Psychiatric Hospitals, please email us at [email protected].
