Former chair of psychology at Norwalk Hospital opposes plan to close the ward
NORWALK — After serving as the department’s director for decades, Dr. Richard Maiberger was emotional when he pleaded with Norwalk Hospital and state officials not to close the facility’s inpatient psychiatric ward.
Maiberger spoke Wednesday during a public hearing for the state’s Office of Health Strategy to consider a request from Nuvance Health, which operates Norwalk Hospital, to end inpatient mental health services.
In the application, hospital officials outlined plans to shift mental health services to a preventative approach, with a focus on Intensive Outpatient Programs. For people who need hospital care, the hospital would refer patients to Danbury Hospital’s inpatient mental health unit, which is also operated by Nuvance.
But for opponents of the plan like Maiberger, who spent most of his career working in Norwalk Hospital’s mental health services unit and served as chairman of psychiatry from 2003 to 2007, sending local residents elsewhere to receiving this treatment would be a disservice to them.
“Anyone I cared for over the years would stay in the local community. They would be much better off there instead of going to Danbury, where it’s out of the community,” Maiberger said. “When I was working, we would make decisions about whether someone needed to be admitted. Many times there was no problem with that, they suffered acute psychosis, or there were many times that the patients did not comply with the treatment. They have relapses and have to be restarted with medication. Sometimes they can’t take care of themselves and need the services.”
However, Norwalk Hospital’s inpatient mental health unit has performed poorly for years, said Dr. Charles Herrick, who is now Nuvance Health’s chairman of psychiatry, during the public hearing.
“The current average volume is seven to eight patients and historically it’s been between nine and 10 for the last 15 years, because patients are able to access other services in the area,” Herrick said. “They go to Hall-Brook (Mental Health Services), Silver Hill (Hospital) or independent facilities, Stamford, Bridgeport, many ask to go to Yale and a lot of that has to do with the care setting.”
With the end of inpatient services, Norwalk Hospital can devote more time and resources to improving outpatient services in and associated with the hospital and improving the center’s emergency department response to mental health crises, Herrick said. .
The plan to close Norwalk Hospital’s inpatient mental health unit is part of a $220 million expansion and modernization projectthat requires the demolition of the building where the mental health unit has been housed, Maiberger said.
“We have occupied four of the six floors of the building for the last decade,” Maiberger said. “There is a location available for a new unit on campus that they could build for $18 million.”
Once Nuvance announced the unit’s impending closure, several staff members left the hospital to seek other employment in preparation for the closure, Maiberger said.
Maiberger, who was among the mental health advocates who spoke out against the plan at the hearing, said her biggest concern about the potential closure is the distance patients and their families will be from their community and providers familiar with their attention, as well as the impact. you will have in the emergency department.
“The issue of emergency support is important and that is what I think is a strong possibility of continuing. People come in and they can’t be admitted to the hospital, they won’t be able to be admitted there,” Maiberger said. “There is still a backup, people sitting in the ED in a room. They are planning to create six new individual rooms where patients can stay. That would be a room with no windows, and they would probably be under constant observation, that way they can do a behavioral health intervention. It may be a matter of days, but those are long days and nights.”
However, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling does not foresee the potential closure having a significant impact on city operations and services.
The expansion of Nuvance’s outpatient therapies through the Norwalk Hospital emergency department is encouraging for the city, Rilling said.
“Nuvance Health has reported a low volume of patients using these resources and having integrated care to ensure these services are accessible in other nearby locations,” Rilling said. “Our Community Services Department and the police department work closely with a variety of community mental health providers to refer patients to the appropriate provider and also work closely with the Norwalk Hospital Emergency Department on crisis interventions. and psychiatric care. These agencies have deep connections to the community and will continue to ensure that residents who need intensive inpatient programs are directed to those services.”
A representative for the Norwalk Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Abigail Brone can be reached at abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com.