Rockview state prison closes mental health unit
The state Department of Corrections closed the mental health unit at Rockview state prison Oct. 30, a department press secretary said Thursday.
Inmates in need of further inpatient treatment were transferred to Waymart state prison in Wayne County. Fifteen inmates were transferred, DOC press secretary Maria Finn said.
“Ultimately, the rationale behind this change was so that the department is better able to meet the needs of our population at a single location for inpatient level of mental health care,” Finn said.
The consolidation allows the department to better coordinate changes from inpatient treatment, long-term inpatient treatment or to an intermediate care unit, Finn said.
The only DOC staff assigned to the unit, which was founded in fall 2005, were corrections officers. All of them remain employed at the prison and will be “redeployed to different posts” at the facility, Finn said.
The change will not affect the prison’s general population. Inmates who were ready for discharge from the unit were transferred back to their “home” facilities, Finn said.
“The MHU is specifically for those individuals who meet the inpatient level of care need, as outlined by the Mental Health Procedures Act, regulated by the Department of Human Services,” Finn said.
No changes were made at Benner state prison.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 1:49 PM.