Connecticut DMHAS to Close Cedarcrest Hospital by July 2010

OPEN MINDS Weekly Wire Mental Health & Chemical Dependency Services The Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) is closing Cedarcrest Hospital by July 1, 2010; the 103-bed facility is one of the state’s five inpatient treatment facilities for people with severe addiction or psychiatric problems. The closure plan was approved by the state’s Office of Health Care Access on March 1, 2010. DMHAS proposed closing Cedarcrest in October 2009 to avoid facility maintenance costs—about $12 million over five years—with the understanding that residents would be transferred to integrated community-based living whenever . . .