Mental health region prepares for exit

MARENGO — Though the East Central Mental Health Region will no longer exist after June 30, Chief Executive Officer Mae Hingtgen shared the agency’s priority initiatives for the end of its final fiscal year with local officials.

In 2014, the State of Iowa took control of mental health services away from counties and formed 14 mental health regions to provide services to people with a mental illness or intellectual disability.

Iowa County was part of the East Central Region which included Benton, Bremer, Buchanan, Delaware, Dubuque, Johnson, Jones and Linn Counties.

Recently the state ditched the region model and created seven districts. The new system will combine funding for mental health and substance use disorder treatment into one behavioral health fund.

Disability services will be overseen directly by Iowa Health and Human Services.

East Central Region, including Hingtgen and her staff, had hoped to be named the administrative service organization for at least one of the new districts, but Hingtgen said Friday that Health and Human Services chose Iowa Primary Care Association, a Des Moines-based nonprofit health organization, to administer all districts in the state.

The former regions will no longer exist after June 30, but Hingtgen and other local officials say patients shouldn’t see a change in services when the ASO takes over the state’s mental health districts.

As of Friday, East Central Region was waiting to hear the result of its bid to administer disability services in the district. Without that contract, “all 34 of our staff will have to find other jobs,” said Hingtgen.

“We have staff who have been with us a long time,” said Hingtgen. Some date back to 10 years ago when the mental health regions were created. Others have worked for Iowa County for 20-25 years, she said.

A lot of institutional knowledge and a lot of relationships will be lost, said Hingtgen. “We have really dedicated people. We have a great team.

“We are a region until June 30,” said Hingtgen. “We still have work to do, and we will continue to do it and hold our heads high.”

East Central Region will support the transition to the statewide Behavioral Health System by facilitating connections with new and existing partners to ensure access to services is not compromised, its revised priority initiative says.

East Central will ensure that the people it served, its staff, its board members and external partners receive the information they need as the state transitions to the new system.

And the region will implement an internal transitional plan to address the resolution, transfer of assets and risks associated with sunsetting regional operations with integrity.

All regions are required to submit transition plans to HHS, said Hingtgen. As of June 30, any computers, desks or vehicles owned by the region will probably become the responsibility of the county, she said.

Johnson County is East Central’s financial agent and will pay the final claims during the months following the transition, said Hingtgen.

County Supervisors agreed to retain Belinda Baack for a couple of months in the next fiscal year to process accruals from the end of the this fiscal year. Her salary and benefits will be in the county budget, said Hingtgen, though the mental health district will provide money up front to pay those costs.

Counties will still be required to budget for commitments, transportation costs and attorney fees, said Hingtgen, but those costs will be reimbursed from the ASO.

Iowa County Supervisors said they’d probably have the sheriff’s office and county attorney bill those costs themselves rather than going through the Board of Supervisors.