Ellis Medicine said the Schenectady, N.Y.-based health system has temporarily paused services in its inpatient adolescent mental health unit at Ellis Hospital.
The health system cited staffing as a factor. Ellis Medicine paused services in the unit, which serves six to seven patients daily, effective May 2.
"We arrived at the difficult, but necessary, decision following persistent staffing limitations stemming from the local and national healthcare employee shortage, which will limit our abilities in the months ahead to safely staff this unit on a 24/7 basis," the health system said in an April 30 news release shared with Becker's.
Moving forward, the health system said it "is committed to restoring inpatient adolescent mental health services in the coming months. Employee recruitment is of utmost priority, and we have already begun an aggressive recruiting campaign to fill critical clinical positions in this service line."
Outpatient mental health services are available at the Ellis Health Center. The organization's 24/7 mental health crisis line is also available.