LOCAL
Caregivers urge UW Regents to stop plans to close psych unit
SEATTLE — The caregivers and staff who provide inpatient psychiatric services at the University of Washington Medical Center are urging all union members and community supporters to show their support for maintaining critical mental health services at UWMC.
In April, nurses in the UWMC’s psychiatric unit known as Seven North learned that UWMC was considering closing part or all of their unit. The closure would have resulted in fewer mental health care beds at a time Washington state is already facing a severe shortage. After a public outcry, the UWMC announced a plan to hold off on closing its psychiatric unit until next year, when it plans to open new mental health care beds at another facility at Northwest Hospital.
See more coverage of the issue in The Stranger.