Johnstown Heights Behavioral Health will permanently shut down in March, laying off more than 150 employees, according to a WARN notice letter filed with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

The behavioral health facility, 4770 Larimer Parkway in Johnstown — about an hour north of Denver — has a troubled past, appearing in the news in late 2023 due to safety concerns and poor working conditions, according to a Denver7 investigative story. 

“We expect that certain employees will be separated from employment before March 31, 2025, as the facility begins to wind down operations,” according to the Jan. 30 WARN letter filed with the Secretary of State’s office.

Johnstown Heights was initially shut down by state regulators in 2021, then came under a new name and new ownership. Denver7 reported that current and former employees as well as patients came to them with repeated concerns about safety, saying the facility prioritized profit over patient care, according to the news story.

In May 2023, state inspection reports showed that a patient death at the facility, which was ruled accidental by Johnstown police, was the result of a patient going 16 hours without being checked before he died, Denver7 reported. 

Now, the facility plans to close permanently on March 31, according to an announcement of planned closure. 

The company has notified all employees, of which there are over 150, of the closure, the announcement said. Terminated positions include dozens of behavioral health associates and registered nurses, several cooks and therapists, and a variety of service directors.

The “Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act” (WARN) is a law that requires employers to provide employees experiencing employment loss with a 60-day notice prior to a layoff, according to the Secretary of State’s website.

Johnstown Heights did not immediately respond to The Denver Gazette’s request for comment.