State mental health services more limited than ever

Gov. Terry Branstad?s closing of Mental Health Institutes is taking its toll. Iowa is worst in the nation when it comes to the state?s ability to provide inpatient mental health treatment for our citizens.

According to the nonpartisan Treatment Advocacy Center, Iowa has only 64 state beds (down from 149 in 2010) for mental health patients?that?s two beds for every 100,000 Iowans ? and most of them are already being used by inmates.

Iowans often have long waits to get the mental health services they need. Without treatment, many end up behind bars, which adds to the burden on our already strained corrections system.

The situation has gotten worse under Gov. Branstad. He has shut down mental health institutes in Mt. Pleasant and Clarinda, the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo, and the Psychiatric Medical Institution for Children in Independence.

That leaves Iowa with about 731 mental health beds (public and private), not nearly enough to help Iowa children and adults with serious mental illnesses.

The governor?s unilateral decision to close the MHI in Mt. Pleasant last year means there are now fewer options for Iowans with complex mental health issues.

It's a shame to lose this successful, high-quality health care program with skilled local caregivers who worked with those in need. In the end, Iowans and Iowa tax dollars will be sent out of state for health care that had been provided close to home.

For more on the troubles states face when they don't have enough psychiatric beds, see the 2016 report from the Treatment Advocacy Center at www.tacreports.org/storage/documents/going-going-gone.pdf.

? Sen. Rich Taylor represents Henry and Lee counties and portions of Washington and Jefferson counties.