Saint Luke's Behavioral Health Center furloughs employees after license suspension

Phoenix, Arizona: Employees at the beleagured Saint Luke's Behavioral Health Center in Phoenix are being furloughed. This decision comes after the state temporarily closed the hospital earlier this month due to a failure in its HVAC system. The malfunction forced the transfer of nearly 100 patients to other facilities for continued care.

The Arizona Department of Health Services subsequently suspended the hospital's license, further complicating the situation. Saint Luke's Behavioral Health Center is operated by Steward Health Care, a Texas-based company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this spring. As part of its bankruptcy proceedings, Steward Health Care had planned to auction off Saint Luke's and other hospitals, but has been unsuccessful in finding buyers.

At the time Steward released a statement following the state’s action. "We are alarmed at the state of Arizona’s arbitrary decision to force St. Luke’s Behavioral Health Center to suspend operations and halt patient care," the statement read. "In the midst of statewide shortages for critical behavioral health services, it is unconscionable for the state to halt patient care without a plan in place to serve these individuals with the ongoing care that they require. They are effectively closing this hospital and causing disruption of critical services to a vulnerable population with few options for care."

Now, according to Steward Health Care, the combination of these factors—ranging from the HVAC failure and patient transfers to the license suspension and unresolved bankruptcy issues—has led to the difficult decision to furlough employees at the Phoenix facility. The company has assured that all furloughed employees will continue to receive full health benefits during this period.