Psychiatric services at Bradford Regional Medical Center will shut down as of Dec. 15, including the inpatient psychiatric and dual diagnosis units.

Upper Allegheny Health System spokesman Joe Fuglewicz confirmed it in a statement Thursday evening.

“Bradford Regional Medical Center has submitted a notification of closure of the behavioral health services at BRMC to the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse,” the statement read, adding it would be closed by the 15th. A total of 35 employees are being impacted, but Fuglewicz said they will be offered “employment into vacant positions throughout the rest of the health care system with hopes of retaining 100% of the staff.”

Why the closure? Several factors went into the decision, the statement read, including provider staffing shortages leaving gaps in coverage throughout the service and continued decline in referrals and patient admittance.

“This year, behavioral health services is currently running an operational loss of $1.6 million,” the statement read. “Health care providers across the country, especially those in rural areas, are facing enormous challenges: provider and other staffing shortages, dynamic markets, and financial strain. Due to these crippling circumstances and other financial pressures, nationwide, more than 360 rural hospitals are at risk of closure.

“We are no different,” the statement continued. “However, we’re taking proactive steps to evolve and change to meet the current market needs as well as anchor essential services at Bradford Regional Medical Center. Our mission is to provide the best in-class care possible. These challenges hinder our ability to do so.”

BRMC is remaining open, and will still have 10 inpatient beds, Fuglewicz said.

How will Bradford’s patients be served for mental health needs?

“Our BRMC emergency department will continue to support the behavioral health needs of the community through partnerships with local agencies as well as transferring patients to local facilities that require a higher level of care, which includes Olean General Hospital (OGH),” the statement read. “OGH currently offers a behavioral health program with the opportunity to add a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program (CPEP) that will improve behavioral health access regionally.”

Back in June, OGH received $5 million from New York state to “develop new comprehensive psychiatric emergency programs.” The goal is for the hospital to serve as an entry point into the mental health system, and can admit patients for up to 72 hours if necessary.

The program aims to add new comprehensive psychiatric emergency programs, add satellite services, or add children’s services to existing adult programs. The programs must be open around the clock and must provide triage and referral services, full emergency visit services, extended observation bed services and crisis outreach services.

According to the statement from hospital officials Thursday, “There is also a $17 million competitive grant in to New York state for a new emergency department which would complement the new CPEP program.”

Hospital officials acknowledged that this is a big change.

“Change is always difficult in health care and hospital operations,” the statement read. “But, we have a responsibility to the organization and an obligation to our community to be sustainable well into the future. BRMC would not be sustainable due to mounting financial pressures.

“Therefore, reevaluation of services and by making difficult decisions, BRMC will continue to be a pivotal health care access point for the area.”

When other services at BRMC have closed in the past, officials with UAHS and parent company Kaleida have said the services would be consolidated at Olean (N.Y.) General Hospital, calling them two campuses of the same hospital.

Currently offered at BRMC, according to its website, are acute day partial hospitalization, medicated assisted treatment program for opiate addiction, alcohol and opiate detox services, a dual diagnosis unit for patients who are dually diagnosed with a mental health and substance abuse disorder, general psychiatric unit and intensive outpatient program.

OGH, according to its website, “is a 14-bed inpatient unit that provides a multi-faceted approach to mental health treatment for patients 18 years and older.” Provided are daily group therapy, individual sessions, locked unit and active discharge planning.