WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — In March 2024, the crisis stabilization unit in Washington County announced that it was closing at the end of June, but the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS) shut down operations sooner than expected.
The county received notice on March 27th that UAMS initiated termination, meaning within 90 days, the Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) would wrap up operations with an official shutdown date set for the end of June, but according to UAMS Spokesperson David Wise, the stabilization unit closed on April 12 after several staff members resigned.
"A client came to me on April 26 with an urgent need to seek supportive services for her mental health issues. I knew that we had already received notice that the CSU would close in June, but I had no idea it was already closed, so I sent her over there," said Monique Jones, the founder of a nonprofit that connects people to resources in the community.
Jones says her last client needed mental health support for bipolar disorder... she later had to go to the CSU in Sebastian County.
"I checked on her and she said she was just sitting in the parking lot crying because the doors were locked and she had no place to go. I started talking to other community members trying to find a place to go, said Jones. "This is right in the community where the support is needed," Jones recalled.
Wise says UAMS hoped to continue operations through June but with multiple staff resignations, it left them with only 4 employees, making it "impossible for us to keep the doors open any longer. After talking with the county, the state, local law enforcement, and others, we made the difficult decision to close. we have been working with the community to help refer patients to other treatment resources,"
Wise claims that compared to other CSUs, the Washington County unit was the least successful in getting client referrals from non-law enforcement sources.
UAMS reported stats for CSUs from April - July 2023:
- Pulaski County CSU
- 256 admissions
- 563 referrals
- 47 referrals from law enforcement
- Washington County CSU
- 100 admissions
- 253 referrals
- 44 referrals from law enforcement
The nonprofit Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition (AJRC) commented on the closure:
The CSU has been a taxpayer investment outfitted by the county to fulfill the stated needs of UAMS as the provider. We implore UAMS to fulfill the remaining time of their contract to the end of June to ensure that those most vulnerable community members have a warm hand-off to another provider. If other CSU units like the one operated in Pulaski County by UAMS can find staffing and deliver care, it seems odd that the commitment to staff and deliver care in Washington County has been so different.
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