OTTUMWA — The local hospital will soon be without a mental health unit.

Ottumwa Regional Health Center leaders announced the change late Monday afternoon. The hospital has provided adult inpatient mental health services for several years but said it will close as soon as patients can be discharged or referred to other facilities.

In a press release, ORHC CEO Tom Siemers said Ottumwa Regional has joined a “growing and unfortunate trend of hospital-based mental health services nationwide,” which cannot achieve sustainable programs due to the inability to recruit and retain necessary staff.

“Iowa is suffering from shortages of a wide range of health professionals but none is more severe than the shortage of hospital-based psychiatrists, especially in rural areas,” Siemers said. “Sadly, Ottumwa Regional isn’t immune to these challenges.”

Siemers also said one of the physicians has chosen to relocate to an urban setting. Another doctor is experiencing visa delays and that leaves the hospital with only one adult psychiatrist.

Hospital staff reported that a recent University of Iowa registry shows that 156 of Iowa's 230 active psychiatrists practice in or around the state's six biggest cities. The Iowa City and Des Moines areas

account for 107 of those. Iowa has about 65 openings for psychiatrists.

The shortage in Iowa seems more pronounced than elsewhere. Recent task-force research from the Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque suggests Iowa has half as many psychiatrists per 100,000 residents compared to the national average, which is 7.7 vs 15.8.

The closing will affect 23 full-time associates who will be offered other positions within ORHC depending on qualifications, or will be supported by the human resources department in finding other employment opportunities. Any employees not relocated will be provided with severance benefits.

“There is a critical shortage of recruiting and retaining psychiatrists in the state. Solving this problem will require a high degree of collaboration and leadership from state government, academic institutions, employers and psychiatrists,” Siemers said.

Ottumwa Regional will continue to offer behavioral and mental health services in other areas: Family Recovery Center, Bridge of Hope, behavior health counseling services, outpatient adult psychiatric care and child and adolescent psychiatric care.