Hillsboro Medical Center to Close One of Oregon's Three Geriatric Psychiatry Units Amid Staffing Crisis
核心洞察
Hillsboro Medical Center (搜索) will shutter its 21-bed Center for Geriatric Psychiatry on September 4, eliminating one of only three acute inpatient psychiatric programs for older adults in Oregon.
Hospital leadership cites persistent staffing shortages, unsuccessful multi-year recruitment efforts, and consistently low patient volumes as the reasons for closure.
The Oregon Nurses Association has launched a public campaign opposing the closures, gathering over 1,570 signatures, and says 28 registered nurses are affected.
Hillsboro Medical Center (搜索), an affiliate of Oregon Health & Science University, will close its 21-bed Center for Geriatric Psychiatry on September 4, eliminating one of only three acute inpatient psychiatric programs in Oregon dedicated to older adults. The decision, first reported by The Lund Report, has drawn sharp criticism from the Oregon Nurses Association, which has launched a public campaign to halt the closure.
The geriatric psychiatry unit treats patients aged 50 years and older for depression (搜索), anxiety (搜索), psychosis (搜索), and self-destructive or threatening behavior tied to psychiatric illness, with access to OHSU specialists. Its closure, alongside the discontinuation of the hospital's emergency observation unit, will affect 28 registered nurses—17 from geriatric psychiatry and 11 from the observation unit—as well as nine advanced practice providers employed by OHSU.
Staffing Shortages and Low Volumes Drive Decision
Hospital leaders attributed the closure to persistent workforce challenges. "Persistent staffing shortages, unsuccessful recruitment efforts sustained over multiple years, and consistently low patient volumes have made it increasingly difficult to sustain a stable, high-quality program, making a transition to other care options the most responsible path forward," said Katie Koehler Reed, a spokesperson for Hillsboro Medical Center (搜索), in a written statement.
Regulatory filings, however, paint a more nuanced picture of patient volumes. In documents submitted to the Oregon Health Authority in 2024, the hospital reported an average daily census of 14 patients in the geriatric unit, with an average length of stay of 17 days and approximately 25 admissions and 25 discharges per month.
The emergency observation unit, which opened during the COVID-19 pandemic, will return to its original function as a surgical preparation and recovery unit once the hospital's COVID-era waiver expires. Koehler Reed said this change is intended "to increase access to the surgical services that our region needs."
Union Opposition and Community Impact
The Oregon Nurses Association has characterized the closures as a "profit-motivated decision" that will harm patients, employees, and the community. As of August 6, the union's online petition had gathered 1,570 signatures. The campaign emerged after months of contract negotiations between the hospital and the nurses' union, with hospital leaders announcing the planned layoffs and service reductions after the nurses' contract expired on June 30.
"This fragile patient population requires specialized care for crisis stabilization," the petition states. "We are deeply concerned about where these patients will go."
The union also raised concerns that closing the emergency observation unit could increase emergency department boarding by reducing the number of beds available for patients needing short-term monitoring before admission or discharge.
Limited Alternatives Across Oregon
The closure leaves only two dedicated geriatric psychiatry units in Oregon: Providence Milwaukie Hospital (搜索), with 19 beds, and Willamette Valley Medical Center (搜索) in McMinnville, with 10 beds. According to union leaders, both facilities are frequently at or near capacity.
The Hillsboro unit previously operated at the former Tuality Community Hospital in Forest Grove before relocating to Hillsboro after the aging facility was decommissioned in 2018.
Transition Plans Underway
Hospital officials said they have already placed 15 affected nurses into new positions at Hillsboro Medical Center (搜索) and are working to identify additional opportunities for other employees, including reserving nurse residency positions for staff interested in transitioning into other clinical areas. Questions regarding the nine affected advanced practice providers were referred to OHSU, which did not respond to a request for comment.
The hospital said the geriatric psychiatry unit will continue operating until all current patients have been placed in safe, clinically appropriate settings. "Our team is working closely with patients, their families, providers and community partners to ease this transition, minimize disruption and help ensure continued behavioral health support for our current patients," Koehler Reed said.