Covenant Health to close inpatient behavioral health center

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Covenant Health will close its inpatient behavioral health center and transition its services to StarCare Specialty Health System in November.

Inpatient services will be transferred to StarCare’s Sunrise Canyon Hospital, a community-based adult psychiatric hospital, effective Nov. 15, 2021.

Covenant previously provided both inpatient and outpatient care for adult behavioral health patients. The decision to close the inpatient center was made in hopes of eliminating duplicate services across Covenant, StarCare and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC).

“Sunrise Canyon Hospital is literally a one-of-a-kind community-based, publicly-funded inpatient psychiatric hospital that specializes in delivering high-quality psychiatric care close to home,” StarCare CEO Beth Lawson said in a news release. “This new partnership will streamline care for adults, avoid duplication of services, and offer an enriched training ground for psychiatric residents.  Personally, I could not be more pleased with this collaboration and the coordination of care that is sure to result.”

Covenant and TTUHSC plan to make significant investments in expanding StarCare’s services for adults experiencing mental health distress, while Covenant Children’s will focus on scaling up outpatient behavioral care for children and adolescents.

“We are blessed to live in a community that recognizes the behavioral health gaps and addresses them, ensuring those patients will receive optimal care for their body, mind, and spirit,” Covenant Children’s CEO Dr. Amy Thompson said in a news release. “We are confident in the abilities of the StarCare team and believe our patients and community are best served under their leadership.”

For more information, visit covenanthealth.org or starcarelubbock.org.

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