Missouri Closing St. Louis Psychiatric Center

The state of Missouri closed the short-term acute care psychiatric unit at Metropolitan St. Louis Psychiatric Center., which is a 112-bed acute care inpatient hospital led by chief operating officer Anthony Cuneo that opened in 1996.

The reorganization is part of the state’s efforts to save costs. The Department of Mental Health estimates the closures of acute care units in St. Louis, Fulton, and the Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center will save the state $1.5 million in its next fiscal year. Mark Utterback, president and chief executive of Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri said the changes will eliminate an essential service to mental health-care patients who rely on this access to immediate care where they can stay long enough to stabilize. No future plans on alternative facilities are currently being discussed.