Mental Health Partners, a private nonprofit serving Boulder County, has abruptly closed its weekend walk-in crisis center and cut its weekday hours of operation, citing a worker shortage.

The facility, located at 3180 Airport Rd., was the county’s only dedicated in-person center open around the clock daily to anyone seeking care for a mental health emergency, such as psychosis or suicidal thoughts. The change took effect on Feb. 6.

The decision to reduce hours at the walk-in center highlights the difficulty of hiring mental health clinicians amid the national labor shortage.

It also reflects a statewide safety-net system unable to meet the needs of people experiencing a mental health crisis, as detailed in an ongoing investigative series by the Colorado News Collaborative.

State regulations generally require walk-in crisis centers to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week all year round unless the state grants providers a rules waiver. Mental Health Partners — which receives about half of its revenue from local, state and federal tax dollars — notified the state of its plans to cut hours at its Boulder clinic just days before it closed, according to state records.