State officials have confirmed that Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital in Rome will close on June 30, according to a local media report.
Tom Wilson, spokesman for the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, confirmed Thursday afternoon that the Rome hospital was the only location closing as part of a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Rome News-Tribune reported Thursday evening on its website.
State officials have estimated that more than 700 people work at the state-run mental hospital, according to the newspaper. There are about 180 patients there, nearly a third of them in the mental health ward and nearly half admitted by the courts.
The closure is part of a federal plan to move patients with developmental disabilities to private locations.
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