Healey Closing Mental Health Center In Pocasset, Reduce Massachusetts Mental Health Case Manager Workforce

Written by Alison Kuznitz

Along with closing a state-run pediatric rehabilitation hospital in Canton, Governor Maura Healey also intends to close a mental health facility on Cape Cod.

Healey also plans to drastically reduce the number of mental health case managers in the state. Critics are strongly opposing the closures and personnel reductions, predicting dire health care repercussions.

A number of health care unions expressed disapproval of the governor’s proposal to close the Pocasset Mental Health Center, also known as the Cape Cod & Islands Community Mental Health Center, which is operated by the state’s Department of Mental Health, when Healey submitted her fiscal 2026 budget on Wednesday.

A representative for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services told the News Service, “We have taken these steps to improve the care and services we are able to offer,” in response to a question about the shutdown.

Spokesman Olivia James stated, “We are committed to supporting patients and their families through the transition of their care, as we recognize that these changes have significant impacts on them.” In order to support affected employees and make sure they can move into new roles, we will also collaborate with workers and our labor partners.

Pocasset employs fifty-six people. Healey’s budget, according to HHS, proposes for cutting the number of DMH case managers from 340 to 170 outside the center.

A commissioner message informed DMH personnel about the Pocasset action Wednesday afternoon, stating that the budget calls for cutting back on our case management staff and closing our acute inpatient unit at Pocasset.

The message, which was obtained by the News Service and disseminated by Ann Looney, director of labor relations at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, reads, “I know that this is very difficult information to receive, but I also want to be honest about the budget realities we are facing as an agency.”

The statement went on to say that we will keep you and your union representatives informed as the process progresses over the coming weeks as the budget is discussed and perhaps changed before being completed. Before any changes are made, we will meet and negotiate with the unions. Any adjustments would occur when the fiscal year begins on July 1, 2025.

During a conference with media on Wednesday, Administration and Finance officials did not specifically bring up the Pocasset closure. However, they claimed that the state would save $31 million by closing Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital in Canton and moving services to a state public health hospital in Westfield.

When asked why she is closing the Pappas hospital in spite of her administration’s emphasis on primary care and mental health, Healey seemed to make reference to the Pocasset facility during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Healey, I see it as a rerouting of care and services. We only have 16 beds in one location, which is a poor use rate. We are looking at other choices, other facilities, and other locations where it could make more sense to consolidate care or provide the appropriate type of care for the approximately 39 people we house there, most of whom are over the age of 21.

According to state health experts, legislative approval is not needed for the facility closures.

The proposal to eliminate Pocasset Mental Health Center, which the union defined as a 16-bed inpatient acute mental health stabilization unit for patients aged 19 and up, has drawn strong opposition from the Massachusetts Nurses Association. According to MNA, the facility provides patients with short-term care.

The MNA said in a statement to the News Service that PMHC is essential to tackling the biggest problem facing our mental health system, which is the shortage of beds to accommodate patients with acute mental illness. This is causing thousands of patients to board for hours or days in our hospital emergency rooms, such as those at Cape Cod, Falmouth, and BI Plymouth Hospitals, where they are left untreated, frequently decompensate, and frequently turn violent. Because there aren’t many programs like these in Cape hospitals, PCMHC is essential to helping them deal with the issue. There is a waiting list for clients, and the program is frequently full.

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO and SEIU Local 509 also raised concerns about the DMH case manager layoffs and hospital closures.

According to Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch, more than 300 union members collaborate between these two sites, offering vital services to communities with significant needs. Our overburdened health care system, where hundreds of behavioral health patients are kept overnight in emergency departments every day, will suffer greatly if both facilities and vital DMH personnel are lost. Due to this ruling, Massachusetts’s mental health patients, their families, and vulnerable children will not have adequate access to care.