Mental Hospital Forced to Close

One of the two remaining private psychiatric hospitals in Ventura County closed Wednesday, putting about 120 employees on the street and triggering the emergency transfer of nearly 60 patients to other facilities.

Housed in a 50-year-old building in Port Hueneme, Anacapa by the Sea was squeezed out of business by rising costs and falling insurance reimbursements, said Charles D. Morris, the hospital’s president and chief executive. “We were caught in the trap of managed care and the health economy,” he said. “We tried our best, but we didn’t have enough room to turn it around.”

Employees plan to gather this morning for a farewell on the hospital’s front lawn. On Wednesday, some were tearful, particularly veterans of Camarillo State Hospital, the mental health institution that closed in 1997.

Anacapa’s closure leaves Vista del Mar in Ventura as the county’s only free-standing private psychiatric hospital. It will make even tougher the plight of families trying to find local treatment for relatives with acute emotional problems, Morris said.

Ventura County contracted with Anacapa for treatment of mentally ill people referred by its crisis teams. However, the hospital’s closure will not significantly strain the public mental health system, officials said.

“Anacapa provided good care and we’re sad to see them close,” said Dr. David Gudeman, director of the county’s behavioral health department. “But overall, we probably have adequate capacity.” Anacapa had financial problems for years, Morris said. However, its crisis heated up at the end of last year when the lease on its five-acre property ended. Since then, Anacapa has fallen even further behind in its rent.

Between back rent and other debts, Morris said, Anacapa has plunged several million dollars into the red. In some cases, the hospital spent twice as much on treatment as it collected from insurers, he said.

Last Friday, the hospital’s bank accounts were seized, ending the long-running financial drama.

“They told us our time was up,” he said.

On Tuesday, Morris relayed the news to his employees and to the families of the hospital’s 59 patients. Seven patients still await placement elsewhere.

“Most of the families were pretty understanding,” he said. “There was a huge amount of sadness.”

Patients in Anacapa’s locked wards typically stayed for 10 to 12 days, often being placed there against their will. An affiliated program, Steps, has about 30 voluntary patients and focuses largely on substance abuse. Morris said he hopes to keep Steps open even as he files for bankruptcy.

What will become of the property is unclear. According to Greg Brown, Port Hueneme’s community development director, the hospital’s owners have planned to sell it for at least a year.

Morris, who has run the hospital for 11 years, said a city official told him that he hoped the building would be torn down and that the land would be developed for homes.

Anacapa is only the latest psychiatric hospital to be shuttered. In 1996, Thousand Oaks’ 80-bed Charter Hospital also was closed for financial reasons.