Forum attendees express concern over closure of MHI

By KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

A proposed loss of jobs wasn?t at the forefront of Saturday?s legislative forum, despite the meeting originally being labeled a discussion about the workforce. Instead nearly 100 citizens piled into the Chapel at Iowa Wesleyan College to discuss what might happen and who might slip thorough the cracks if Mt. Pleasant?s Mental Health Institute is closed, as proposed by Governor Terry Branstad.

During Branstad?s State of the State address he mentioned several things including job creation, bullying and the need for high speed internet in rural communities. One thing he skimmed over was the budget, which allotted for $0 for two mental health institutes, one at Clarinda and the one in Mt. Pleasant, essentially a plan to close both facilities. Mt. Pleasant Mental Health Institute received nearly $7 million in state funds.

If the Mt. Pleasant MHI is closed, roughly 90 jobs will be lost from the community.

From 8:30 to 10 a.m., on Saturday, Jan. 24, three panelists, Charles Palmer, director of the department of Human Services, State Representative Dave Heaton, and State Senator Rich Taylor came together, not to discuss the way the closing was announced, but rather what the reasoning behind the decision was, what it will mean for the community and if there is any way to change the governor?s mind.

Palmer said despite MHI being a longtime fixture in the state, there has been a change in the delivery of mental health services, leaving MHI inadequate.

?I find this a very difficult decision to be made, but looking at a variety of factors, it really is a decision that these set of factors lead me to this conclusion and recommendation that makes sense at this point in time,? said Palmer.

Palmer listed the changing delivery of services, the significant reduction in people served over time, the difficulty in recruiting and maintaining clinical professionals and the overall costs associated with any given day for services in the facility.

Palmer said within making his decision to recommend closing the two facilities he had to make sure there would be adequate alternatives. He stated the two other facilities, in Cherokee and Independence, with some updates, would be able to fulfill patient needs left by closing Clarinda and Mt. Pleasant.

During the course of the discussion, Palmer also stated the prison system has made significant changes in mental health care and accessibility.

?For the people in the prison system, they?re receiving better care than they?ve ever had,? said Palmer.

Taylor retorted that in 2000 the state built a clinical care unit at the Iowa State Penitentiary to serve 200 mentally ill inmates.

?First of all, they were inmates that if we had the mental health care that we needed out in the communities and the MHIs would have been expanded, they wouldn?t have had to be in prison in the first place,? he said. ?Last year, (Corrections) director (John) Baldwin chose to shut down that clinic and farm these mentally ill inmates out into the general population of the prison throughout the state. It was the wrong move, it was a dumb move.?

?You can?t tell me we?re providing better mental health care in a prison than we are at MHI,? Taylor added.

Lee County Sheriff, Jim Sholl, said that right now he has the ability to bring people from jail to MHI who would benefit from their services.

?I think it?s silly that you?re pulling these services out from under these people so that they continue to languish in my county jails as their condition deteriorates,?

Heaton addressed the audience and said that this wasn?t the first time Mt. Pleasant has had to deal with the possibility of the MHI closing. He said although he was blindsided by the governor?s budget and the proposed closing, he?s not done fighting to keep the facility open.

Heaton said as the chair of the Health and Human Services budget, he could place the money and the language for the institution. He could still, because it?s an appropriations bill, zero out the money or veto the line item.

?What we need is a groundswell of interest from the citizens of this state that we think he?s making a mistake,? said Heaton. ?You?re involvement and your concern could prevent the governor from exercising his (right) to veto.?

Heaton added he thought closing the MHI was a shortsighted decision.

Before the hour and a half discussion came to a close, Taylor had one final question for the director.

?Was this your idea or the governor?s idea and he told you this was your idea,? Taylor asked.

Palmer responded that he had gone to the governor and told him the plan to close the two mental health facilities because it made sense in terms of the direction and the way, overall, the mental health system is going.

?I made the recommendation,? he said.

A town hall meeting is planned at Danville to continue the MHI discussion. The meeting will take place at Danville from noon to 2 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 7.

The next legislative forum will be on Feb. 28 at IWC. Education and work force will be on the table for discussion.