Min. Dale Edwards Executive Director Call and Post
CLEVELAND — Ohio
In a significant restructuring of its behavioral-health operations, The MetroHealth System announced this week that it will close its Psychiatric Emergency Department (Psych ED) at the Cleveland Heights Medical Center effective December 31 and reassign 35 employees to other parts of its system to “expand behavioral-health services across Northeast Ohio.”
What’s being changed
According to MetroHealth’s announcement, the Psych ED closure is part of a broader effort to “redistribute access and avoid duplication of community services.”
- The Psych ED at Cleveland Heights opened in October 2024 in the Behavioral Health Hospital facility.
- The move comes after the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County shifted funding away from MetroHealth’s Psych ED — approximately $4 million annually — toward a new crisis-center operated by The Centers, following a $7 million investment by the Cuyahoga County Council.
- MetroHealth leadership emphasized the change does not mean scaling back behavioral-health services overall, but instead re-imagining how care is delivered. “We are committed to providing a continuum of behavioral-health services … and we are re-imagining what that looks like for our health system,” said President & CEO Dr. Christine Alexander-Rager.
- The 35 employees who will be reassigned were working in the Psych ED unit; future roles will focus on expanding MetroHealth’s behavioral-health footprint elsewhere in the region.
Why the change now
Multiple factors contributed to MetroHealth’s decision:
- Duplicate services: With the new crisis-center being built by The Centers and funded by county agencies, MetroHealth officials say there would be overlapping services at the Psych ED, making long-term sustainability difficult.
- Funding shift: The ADAMHS Board’s funding shift and county council’s directive toward the new crisis center put financial pressure on maintaining the dedicated Psych ED at Cleveland Heights.
- Strategic alignment: MetroHealth says the closure allows the system to reinvest resources into areas with greater unmet need — outpatient behavioral-health access, virtual care, community-based services — rather than maintaining a costly emergency unit that may duplicate what the future crisis center provides.
Reactions and concerns
Community advocates and mental-health professionals say the timing of the closure raises several concerns:
- Access: Some worry that patients experiencing acute psychiatric crisis may face longer transport times if the dedicated ED closes — especially those in neighborhoods used to the Cleveland Heights location.
- Continuity of care: The Psych ED at Cleveland Heights opened only a year ago, and for many providers it became a visible commitment by MetroHealth to stabilize psychiatric emergencies in a dedicated setting. Its closure may appear to reverse that investment.
- Coordination: While MetroHealth says its main campus and other EDs will continue to provide psychiatric care, the hand-off between emergency services, crisis-centers, law-enforcement, and outpatient providers remains complex and the broader system may be tested.
What patients and families should know
- The Cleveland Heights Medical Center will no longer have the dedicated Psychiatric Emergency Department after December 31.
- MetroHealth says all other behavioral-health services — inpatient, outpatient, virtual — will continue and some will be expanded.
- If you are in a mental-health crisis and need immediate help: call 988 (the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to the nearest emergency department. MetroHealth lists virtual behavioral-health options and outpatient services on its website.
- Patients of the closing unit are encouraged to contact MetroHealth for assistance transitioning to new providers or locations; MetroHealth has stated it will help coordinate that process.
What happens next
MetroHealth states it will work with county leadership to analyze the behavioral-health continuum and determine how and where to deploy the reassigned staff.
In the coming months:
- MetroHealth will notify patients who used the Psych ED of their options.
- The new crisis center being built by The Centers is expected to open in the Central neighborhood and serve many people who might have come to MetroHealth’s Psych ED.
- MetroHealth will expand virtual and outpatient behavioral-health services, aligning with broader regional strategies to treat mental-health needs earlier and outside of emergency settings.
Bottom line
The move by MetroHealth to shutter its dedicated Psychiatric Emergency Department in Cleveland Heights marks a notable shift in how emergency psychiatric care is delivered in Cuyahoga County. While MetroHealth frames it as a strategic realignment aimed at expanding access and reducing service duplication, the decision also underscores the financial and systemic pressures facing mental-health crisis care in the region.
For individuals and families navigating psychiatric emergencies, the important message is: the services are transforming — not disappearing — but if you or someone you know is in crisis, immediate help remains available through 988 or at your nearest emergency department.
Call & Post will continue to follow this story — including how the reassigned staff are deployed, how the new crisis center integrates with existing services, and the impact on access to psychiatric emergency care in underserved neighborhoods.
