Nearly 500 Behavioral Health Workers in Colorado Have Been Laid Off in the Past 3 Months

The 48-bed hospital was operating at a loss, with only about 30 beds filled on average over the past six years and had come under intense scrutiny in recent years over patient care. The hospital opened in 2005, and in 2016 built a new $34 million facility funded partly from donations and grants, including from the Colorado Health Foundation. 

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the upcoming closure of West Springs Hospital,” hospital officials said in a news release announcing the closure. “This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the profound impact it will have on our patients, staff, and community.” 

Vincent Atchity, president of Mental Health Colorado, called the closure a “disaster for the health needs of the people of the Western Slope.”