Officials with the state Department of Mental Health announced Tuesday a plan to close North Alabama Regional Hospital in Decatur by June 30, but it’s unclear how Limestone County may be affected.

In a letter from Mental Health Commissioner Jim Reddoch to state officials, Reddoch said the closure of NARH aligns with a focus from facility-based care to more of a “recovery oriented and community based system of care.” He added the movement is based on the principle that “treatment in a person’s community is far less isolating and much more conducive to recovery.”

This is the third closure of a state hospital since 2012, officials said. Greil Hospital in Montgomery closed in August 2012 and Searcy Hospital in Mt. Vernon closed in October 2012. Patients from these hospitals were migrated to community-based mental health providers such as the Mental Health Center of North Alabama.

Reddoch’s letter also mentions the state’s “current fiscal environment,” which “compels us to move to this far more efficient system of service delivery.”

NARH also faced closure in 2012, but the decision was made to leave the facility open. Published media reports from April of that year quoted State Sen. Arthur Orr,-R-Decatur, as having conveyed to Gov. Robert Bentley the importance of the hospital and its employees to the Morgan County community. He also said at the time he remained “wary” of the future.

Calls made to Orr’s office were not returned Tuesday prior to deadline.

The 40-year-old hospital has a 74-bed capacity, according to the Department of Mental Health’s website. Reddoch said patients formerly served by the hospital will now be served by acute care units at hospitals, crisis stabilization units, intermediate care facilities operated by community health centers or Bryce Hospital, if necessary.

Associate Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Beverly Bell-Shambley said she met with hospital staff Tuesday to announce the closure, and that “consumers” served by the facility will transition into the community.

“Patients will receive services from the community mental health centers,” Bell-Shambley said. “Some (centers) have contracts with local hospitals, but they will have community health care in place, much like they did when (Greil and Searcy) closed in 2012.”

Limestone County Probate Judge Charles Woodroof, who works with local mental health officials during the commitment process, said he’s not completely surprised by the closure of NARH, given the growing focus on community-based care.

He said some commitments are still hospitalized in Decatur, but for the last year and a half, more of the county’s mentally ill have been served by crisis stabilization units in Cullman, Jasper, Anniston and Huntsville.

Mentally ill patients who are over age 65 and need commitment are sent to Bryce Hospital’s Harper facility.

Woodroof does have reservations about the closing of NARH, however, especially if a mentally ill person needs care above and beyond what “community” care can provide. A person committed by the state must be hospitalized for 150 days, but Woodroof wondered what happens when that time is up and the patient needs additional care.

“What about patients who may have a need beyond 150 days or who may need a recommitment? Would they be receiving the same intensive treatment?” he asked. “Regional really has been a wonderful facility for the people of Limestone County.”

Employees affected

North Alabama Regional Hospital currently has a staff of 144 employees, and the hospital’s closure may mean 31 people are laid off. Other positions will be eliminated through retirements, attrition and voluntary transfers.

“We will work to transition them into state jobs, (mental health) facilities in Tuscaloosa or state employment positions in the Morgan County area,” Bell-Shambley said.