Psychiatric emergency services will transition from St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center to The MetroHealth System effective July 1, 2024. This is the result of the determination by the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County that psychiatric emergency services should be offered by a hospital with access to a full psychiatric emergency department.

As St. Vincent Charity closes its psychiatric emergency services unit June 30, MetroHealth is preparing to open a new psychiatric emergency department on its Cleveland Heights campus later this fall. Staffing and operations for the project is funded by the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County.

Before the opening of the new facility, and to ensure community needs are met, MetroHealth will continue to provide high-quality psychiatric care and coordination at its four emergency departments, including at its Main Campus on West 25th Street in Cleveland.

The new psychiatric emergency department at Cleveland Heights will continue the significant investments MetroHealth has made in mental and behavioral health over the last five years. The department will be adjacent to MetroHealth’s Cleveland Heights Behavioral Health Hospital, further enhancing the accessibility of medical and mental health support to patients and allowing for an easy transfer to inpatient behavioral healthcare, if needed.

St. Vincent Charity will not accept new patients after 8 a.m. on June 30. After that, people needing psychiatric emergency assessment or treatment can be transported to the closest appropriate Emergency Department (MetroHealth or others) based on location. All four MetroHealth Emergency Departments will continue to provide emergency psychiatric evaluations as before.

In planning for this transition, St. Vincent Charity and MetroHealth have been working closely with the ADAMHS Board, which is responsible for the planning, funding and monitoring of public mental health and addiction treatment and recovery services delivered to county residents, including psychiatric emergency services.

The three organizations are helping ensure continued access to high-quality care and coordination with local police, fire and EMS, as well as allowing St. Vincent Charity’s employees to apply for open positions at MetroHealth.

Statements on the Opening of the New Psychiatric Emergency Department

“For decades, St. Vincent Charity has provided an essential community service, while supporting the mental health and wellbeing of so many members of our region. I want to personally thank those involved in the entire organization for the incredible work they have undertaken,” says MetroHealth President & CEO Airica Steed, Ed.D, RN, MBA, FACHE. “MetroHealth is honored to take on this important activity, which is part of our broader institutional commitment to expanding access to the best behavioral healthcare for all members of our community.”

“St. Vincent Charity has been committed to providing all members of our community with the highest quality medical and mental healthcare possible since its founding,” says Charles Garven, MD, Chief Medical Officer at St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center. “Psychiatric emergency care is an essential service and we have been pleased to work with MetroHealth to ensure high-quality resources will continue to be available to everyone.”

“For decades, the ADAMHS Board has been a supporter and funder of high-quality and accessible mental health, addiction and recovery services in our region,” said Scott Osiecki, CEO of the ADAMHS Board. “We thank St. Vincent Charity for their longtime partnership and support of psychiatric emergency services; and we look forward to a new, dedicated partnership with MetroHealth to help ensure the future of this vital part of the crisis continuum of care.”

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis and require emergency care, dial 988, the county-wide mental health crisis line.