Senate trying to keep MHIs open

DES MOINES (AP) ? A proposed health services budget in the Democratic-controlled Senate has funding to save two state mental health facilities slated to close this year, lawmakers said Wednesday, though it?s unclear whether such a legislative move would garner enough support from either the House or Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad.

Sen. Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City and vice chairwoman of the Senate Human Resources Committee, said there is about $11 million in a proposed health and human services budget bill to keep the facilities in Clarinda and Mt. Pleasant open.

Ragan said she felt there would be enough support in the House to advance the bill, though she acknowledged Branstad has the power to oppose it.

?I can only speak for what we?re going to do to make sure that we?re serving the people that need to be served,? she said.

Rep. David Heaton, the chairman of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, has been vocal about keeping the facilities open, but he said he wants to work with both Branstad and the Senate to find a consensus.

?I would hope that the House and the Senate and the governor?s office can come to an agreement on some plan that we can announce soon,? the Mt. Pleasant Republican said. His committee would need to advance the proposed budget.

Both current and former employees from Clarinda and Mt. Pleasant also spoke to the Senate Government Oversight Committee on Wednesday about the scheduled closings and its effect on patients, workers and the surrounding communities. Some of the former employees were laid off earlier this month.

?We basically have an empty building,? said Anna Short, a former drug abuse counselor at Mt. Pleasant, noting that many of the treatment programs have stopped accepting patients. ?Even down to our furniture has been taken.?

Branstad?s budget proposal, released in January, removed funding for the facilities for the fiscal year that begins in July. Spokesman Jimmy Centers said the governor believes the facilities are outdated and moving to two state mental health facilities ? Cherokee and Independence ? ?will mean better, more modern mental health care for Iowa patients.?

Wednesday?s testimony countered that assertion. Short said the original Mt. Pleasant building burned down decades ago and workers and patients are now in a facility built around the 1960s. Sue Rehwaldt-Hays, an occupational therapist in Clarinda, said that facility underwent renovations in the 1980s, among other updates. The employees were adamant that the facilities were well-run and clean.

Both current and former employees also said both facilities continue to receive multiple phone calls from other treatment centers seeking space for patients.