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Did patients lose access to care when Arizona authorities closed St. Luke's Behavioral Health Center?

By Carmela Guaglianone
NO

Arizona’s Medicaid agency, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), stated that all St. Luke’s patients under treatment were transferred to other facilities within 24 hours of the behavioral health center’s closure. Aurora, Quail Run and Oasis Behavioral Health centers all accepted St. Luke’s patients.

St. Luke’s shuttered its Behavioral Health Center after inspectors from the Arizona Department of Health Services cited concerns about insufficient staffing, a failing air conditioning system and health violations, among other issues. The facility’s license was suspended with an emergency order and staff were put on unpaid leave in late August.

Tempe St. Lukes had a capacity of 88 beds, 52 of which are designated for patients in need of court-ordered psychiatric treatment.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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