(Spirit Lake)– A local facility that treats mentally ill patients from Dickinson county and several surrounding counties in northwest Iowa is closing its doors–atleast temporarily.
Spencer-based Season’s Center leases and operates the Oak Haven Care Facility which is owned by Dickinson county. Assistant Dickinson County Attorney Lonnie Saunders tells KUOO news the county was recently notified of an issue with mold and mildew in the building. He says it came during a joint meeting between the Dickinson county board of supervisors and Season’s Center board members.
Based on that, Saunders says the supervisors hired a firm to inspect the building, which was done last Friday. He says it turned up numerous areas with mold and mildew growing. Based on those findings and on health concerns for faculty and patients, Saunders says the board of supervisors opted to invoke a provision in the contract giving Season’s Center 10 days to get out of Oak Haven.
That has counties with patients in the facility scrambling to find new accomodations for them. Dickinson county is among them–Saunders says it currently has three patients at Oak Haven.
Whether or not the closure is permanent isn’t known. Saunders says that will depend on the extent of the problem and the cost to fix it. Saunders added once the patients are gone, it may be difficult to get them back. He says at this point the county hasn’t decided what action to take regarding any fixes and/or clean up.
Saunders also pointed out to KUOO news the decision by the supervisors to terminate the lease on Oak Haven wasn’t taken lightly. He says they knew it would cause turmoil with patients and their families, but that it was in the best interest of the welfare and health of the patients and those who work there. The facility employs about 30 people.
The board of supervisors have scheduled a special meeting for 10:00 a.m. Friday to further discuss the Oak Haven closure.
Oak Haven is located on what used to be the Dickinson County Farm southwest of Spirit Lake. Season’s Center had been leasing the facility from the county for many years.
