Patients, Staff Trickle Out of Health Center

As the doors of the Tinley Park Mental Health Center are shuttered this week, some are wondering where they, and others, will turn for help.

The Chicago Tribune reported that one woman who received paranoid schizophrenia treatment at the facility for a six-month period is worried about where south suburban residents are going to find the help they need.

"I'm heartbroken, and I'm really kind of angry about the whole situation because I feel if something happens to me, I won't have that support system anymore," Lisa Guardiola, 41, of Hazel Crest told reporter Ashley Reuff. "I don't really know what's going to happen."

Gov. Pat Quinn has said he prefers to shift those seeking care away from state-run facilities and into more community focused settings. He about nine months ago, calling it a "cost-savings" measure that would shave about $313 million off Illinois' budget.

About 2,000 people have been treated annually at the facility—it had a 54-year life span—but Friday was the last day for a handful of patients who will be sent to other centers in Chicago and its outlying areas.

A representative for the local health facility said staff members were tying up loose ends Monday afternoon. All employees and patients were to be out by July 1, she said.

The center had been under fire for several years before finally getting its fate handed down in June .

The  will be offered to other state agencies for a period of 60 days prior to coming before the which gets the "first right of refusal," Mayor Ed Zabrocki said.

Looking for more coverage on the closure of Tinley's health center?

Like us on Facebook!