IWC nursing students take their petitions to the governor

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

DES MOINES ? Iowa Wesleyan College nursing students, clad in their purple scrubs, and their professor marched on the state Capitol Wednesday.

Well, marched may be an exaggeration, but they were armed. Armed with petitions, that is, containing more than 7,100 signatures protesting the closing of the Mt. Pleasant Mental Health Institute (MHI).

The students and professor were escorted to Gov. Terry Branstad?s office by State Sen. Rich Taylor, D-Mt. Pleasant, where they presented the petitions. Branstad, however, was traveling and not in his office.

?This ill-thought plan, in their opinion, not only undermines the much-needed mental-health care of Iowa?s most vulnerable citizens, but also robs students of an invaluable resource for education in this field,? Taylor, who has been very critical of the governor?s decision to close two of the state?s four MHIs, said. ?This is quite an amazing accomplishment in a very short period of time, especially considering the population of Mt. Pleasant is just 8,500 people.?

Many of the signatures were gained through online petitions.

Kaitlyn Dirth, a junior nursing student at IWC, said she began the online petition because she does training at the facility alongside patients with growing concerns about their future treatment options.

?It?s heartbreaking to see them just questioning so much of what?s going to happen in the next couple of months,? Dirth said.

She said her goal with yesterday?s meeting at the Capitol was to bring a face to the consequences of shutting down the Mt. Pleasant facility. She said nursing students use the facility to complete required training hours for graduation and closing it will force students to find limited training accommodations elsewhere.

Branstad?s fiscal-year 2016 budget proposal does not include funding for either the Mt. Pleasant or Clarinda MHI. The Mt. Pleasant facility also is not accepting any new patients.

Lisa Kongable, an IWC associate nursing professor, said there?s a shortage of space to treat such mental-health patients. Kongable, who is also a psychiatric staff nurse at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC), said UIHC has repeatedly sought space at the Mt. Pleasant MHI for patient treatment.

Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers released statements Wednesday reiterating the governor?s stance that the Mt. Pleasant and Clarinda facilities are very old and patients can seek mental-health treatment from other providers, including the two remaining state mental-health institutions in Cherokee and Independence.

Mt. Pleasant?s MHI is the oldest such facility in Iowa, having opened in 1861. Mt. Pleasant and Clarinda are the only two MHIs in southern Iowa.

Centers said the governor is aware of the students? protest.

?The governor appreciates (the students?) concerns but believes modern mental-health treatment for those in need is best delivered through a new modern approach rather than a system of institutions designed for the 1800?s,? Centers said through an email.

Branstad has said he favors a more community-based approach and has a plan for a redesign of the provider system. However, that plan has yet to be announced.

Address for the on-line petition is http://chn.ge/1CKFyU8. A video of the students? presentation at the governor?s office can be viewed at http://youtu.be/HezUywkyvaA.

An Associated Press report contributed to this article.