How a sudden clinic shutdown upended my husband’s mental healthcare

How a sudden clinic shutdown upended my husband’s mental healthcare

Such cutbacks are becoming more commonplace in terms of medical mental health systems in local communities and across the country.

Commentary by Lisa Ormond | FāVS News

On March 14, as reported by The Spokesman-Review, the behavioral mental health treatment center Therapeutic Solutions in Spokane Valley, closed its business doors to its nearly 1,800 patients and their affected friends and families after providing care services and support for approximately seven years in the Inland Northwest. 

My husband Randal was a Therapeutic Solutions patient, a person seeking and needing the care offered. Before it closed its doors, he participated in a three-month Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) at the facility and his psychiatrist was employed there. 

Crushing realities

This sudden stoppage of mental health care services not only caused disruption, but the overflow of this business decision was additional anxiety and instability for patients and their support networks. Sadly, such cutbacks are becoming more commonplace in terms of medical mental health systems in our communities and across our country. 

Unfortunately, in the past several years, Randal and I have experienced the struggles caused by the disappearing mental care services due to closures, cuts, and doctor relocations. 

This is not new, and neither is the mental health crisis locally and nationally; it touches all of us.  

According to Sherri Boelter, a Disability Action Center Northwest employee who works in Post Falls, mental health services are “increasingly essential in today’s society.” She also is a Family Support Group co-facilitator with Coeur d’Alene National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).  

“It is concerning to consider individuals in our community facing mental health challenges without access to appropriate assistance,” Boelter said. “Everyone deserves access to proper mental care, just as they do for medical or dental services.”

A bomb dropped

It was shocking news to learn about the clinic closure. It floored my husband and I when his psychiatrist apologetically told him in his regularly scheduled appointment, he could no longer be his doctor. He was instructed to immediately find a new psychiatrist, and he could not provide him with a referral list of doctors. It was clear the clinic’s employees were in as much shock as their patients.

“It felt very unfair. It was an executive decision and lacked a good timeline to provide the best care to our patients,” said Therapeutic Solutions lead medical assistant Tiffany Barnes in The Spokesman-Review news report. “This has been a devastating loss,” Barnes added. 

We both felt the confusion and pain of this slammed door and the subsequent free falling to find care for my husband without warning. Obviously, I do not know the exact impact this closure had on the entire Inland Northwest community itself and the patients themselves, but I can share our story which might offer a small slice of insight. 

Making sense of the unknown 

Recently, my husband and I moved from Moscow to the Coeur d’Alene area to have access to more comprehensive medical and mental health care services. Since the May 2023 emergency room visit, when Randal suffered his first severe panic attack and couldn’t breathe, discovering and uncovering the mysteries of the mind has been our main journey as a couple to find him comfort, sustainable wellness and consistent recovery.  

During this time, he has been admitted to two different hospital psychiatric units, visited emergency rooms three times for mental symptom support and attended intensive outpatient therapy twice. He has been under the care of nearly 10 different psychiatrists, and over 10 mental health therapists/counselors. The list of the prescribed medications he has taken is too long to share here. 

Often, there are no clear answers with mental health conditions, no agreement about diagnoses, and confusion tends to be the norm for the patient and the loved one(s) and friend(s) offering support. 

We try to make sense of the information we read in books and online and from what we hear from the many medical professionals. Grey is the norm. Compassionate care and a positive mental wellness experience is what we seek for him and us as a couple. 

Unfortunately, the clinic closure didn’t feel good, and healing doesn’t happen overnight for most of us in our bodies and certainly not easily in our minds.

New stressors to tackle

I’m Randal’s first line caregiver, his loving partner, his “wing man” helping him cope and traverse this recent unexpected interruption of care in his journey. Behind every person with mental conditions is likely at least a friend and/or a loved one who willingly walks alongside this individual. 

And, according to NAMI, at least 8.4 million people in the U.S. provide care to an adult with a mental or emotional health issue. Caregivers of adults with mental or emotional health issues spend an average of 32 hours per week providing unpaid care.

A different view — the numbers

Let’s imagine the impact this one local clinic’s closure had on its patients and their support networks. Please follow this example. 

• There were 1,800 Therapeutic Solutions patients. 
• Hopefully, each one had one or more support people in their lives.
• This means approximately 3,600+ people (patient + care support) were affected by the closure. 

Now, the next step: making calls to find a new area psychiatrist. 

• For my husband, it took approximately 30 calls to find his doctor. 
• If each patient made 30 calls to find their doctor, then 30 calls x@1,800 patients = 54,000 calls were needed to find care for this group of patients in our community. 

Wow! This process translates into time, stress and uncertainty. We must also acknowledge the efforts of the medical staff taking and facilitating these calls, which resulted in an extra layer of workload. 

Closure takeaways

• Be grateful for mental health care providers and local non-profits; treat them well.
• Please advocate for and financially support mental health services and facilities.
• Educate yourself about mental health. 
• Be a kind neighbor or friend to someone who suffers from mental health disorders. 
• Offer understanding, hugs and smiles.

A cloak of mystery 

I attempted twice to talk with the owner of Therapeutic Solutions located in Chico, California, to educate myself as to why the business folded. I wanted to offer our readers more insights. 

Why close? Was it lack governmental funding, a business model malfunction, insurance company strangulation…or? I spoke with Eric in the Chico office who took my name and number twice. I never received a call back of explanation. I guess it didn’t matter that much.  

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.