Alabama Department of Mental Health officials say Searcy Hospital in Mount Vernon is expected to close on Oct. 31 and admissions to the south Alabama facility will cease on Sept. 17.
Plans to close Searcy were announced in April. But Mental Health Commissioner Jim Reddoch told hospital employees the closing date Tuesday.
Department officials said the closing is part of a nationwide trend to provide community-based mental health treatment.
Searcy Hospital currently has 298 workers. Officials said not all employees would lose their jobs. Some have accepted transfers to other department facilities or to other state agencies. The department is continuing to offer job vacancies to Searcy workers first.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.