Spectrum closing Hadley Center for Behavioral Health; outpatient services will continue at hospital.

LUDINGTON — Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital announced today that it will be closing its inpatient psychiatric unit, The Hadley Center for Behavioral Health.

Psychiatrists Stanley Seuferer and Sue Ellen Huffstutter will continue serving the community with outpatient behavioral health care from their medical practice in the hospital’s professional office building, according to a press release from the hospital. All current Hadley Center patients will continue their treatment plans, and as of June 8 no new patients will be admitted. By the end of June, all patients will have been discharged. A special hotline has been set up to take and address individual patient or family questions; that number is 231-845-2184.

“We believe patients with acute mental health disorders can best be served by a specialized facility devoted to meeting all of their needs, including concurrent medical services such as substance abuse treatment, neurological care, geriatric services, etc.  We are not able to provide those specialty concurrent medical services locally,” said Helen Johnson, chief nursing officer and current administrative site leader for the Ludington Hospital.

The Hadley Center census over the past several years has declined, according to the hospital’s press release.

Hadley’s staff members will all be offered positions in other areas of the Ludington Hospital. Career advisors will be available to Hadley staff during the transition to help them with planning and decision-making and to answer any questions. “We have very skilled, highly professional staff working in the Hadley Center and want very much to utilize their behavioral health expertise,” said Joe Johnson, director.

“We are proud of the 25-plus years the Hadley Center has served patients, with outstanding treatment results from our psychiatrists and staff,” Helen Johnson said. “Behavioral health will remain an important service of Ludington Hospital. Our psychiatrists will remain active with their patients and have more time to focus on additional outpatient care, thus increasing access to these services.”

“This change is in keeping with our community health needs assessment (CHNA), which identified outpatient care for behavioral health as a prime need in our service area. Our CHNA reflects a growing need to create expanded access for outpatient behavioral health issues.

“We will be referring patients with acute mental health disorders requiring inpatient hospitalization to west Michigan facilities devoted to meeting their behavioral health and concurrent medical needs. This is in the best interest of these patients,” Helen Johnson said.

The Ludington hospital will continue to provide care in outpatient settings for mild to moderate behavioral health disorders. Outpatients constitute a significant majority of the hospital’s behavioral health patients and it will focus its resources on outpatient care in order to best meet this identified need.

Helen Johnson added that, consistent with a current national trend, a strategy of Spectrum Health Medical Group is to provide outpatient behavioral health services in medical offices, including in primary care offices. These outpatient services will be expanded over time and may take the form of licensed social workers in primary care offices and/or social work services offered via MedNow telehealth services.

Appropriate communications will take place with all referral sources, and patients and families will have the special hotline available so their individual questions can be addressed. The goal will be to help make the transition as easy as possible for all parties affected.