(Radio Iowa) – A residential health care program in northeast Iowa that’s offered help for girls and young women experiencing mental health crises for more than 150 years is transitioning away from those services this week. The program at Bremwood in Waverly is run by Lutheran Services of Iowa, which is shifting the focus away from residential care. Lutheran Services of Iowa C-E-O Renee Hardman says one of the big reasons programs like this are shuttering is due to obsolete care models.

Hardman says, “Residential care, the way it has traditionally been provided, probably is a bit outdated given the needs and demands of what these young women need.” Like many mental health care providers, she says staffing and wage difficulty has prompted them to make tough decisions. “It’s a combination of the acuity level of the girl, the 60 percent turnover in trying to recruit and retain staff that are paid at wages that, quite frankly, they could make more at a Walmart or McDonald’s,” she says, “but you can only pay so much based on what you’re reimbursed for.”

Fifteen young women and 50 staff will be affected by the transition. L-S-I hasn’t yet determined the next step for the campus.