"This is a difficult time for all of us in mental health," Steve McCaffrey, CEO of Mental Health America of Indiana, said Thursday afternoon at the onset of a town hall discussion about Medicaid changes. Gina Eckert of Indiana's State Division of Mental Health, Galen Goode, CEO of the Hamilton Center, and state Reps. Nancy Michaels (D-Greencastle) and Clyde Kersey (D-Terre Haute) all participated in the discussion in the Vigo County Public Library's lower level.
But as Eckert and Goode explained throughout the two-hour presentation, the complexity of funding vehicles for mental illness is so great that adaptation has become a way of life for the organizations. As McCaffrey noted during his opening comments, studies commissioned by President George W. Bush showed that the mental health system in America is so fragmented that a complete overhaul was necessary anyway.
Recovery, Eckert explained, is a long-term journey for the mentally ill, with an emphasis on living a meaningful life within the community instead of state-run hospitals. The days of locking patients up and walking away is over for a number of reasons, moral and financial, she explained.
[widget:newsarticlemedicalresearch]
"A lot of service doesn't necessarily mean the right service," she said, explaining that a patient kept inside one of the state's six psychiatric hospitals might receive a lot of services, but putting that person into less-expensive community-based programming would not only cost less but be more beneficial to all involved. "Less services might means less money, but that might not be so bad."
The concept of using state psychiatric hospitals for long-term stays is probably over, she said, noting that the new effort will be on removing the stigma associated with being labeled "mentally ill." Landlords and employers will be approached on the matter, she said, as both groups will need to be open to giving the patients a chance in spite of their illness.
McCaffrey showed the group one of the television advertisements planned for the media campaign. Featuring Hollywood actors, the advertisement emphasizes awareness and tolerance.
Eckert said that in her life, the day is scheduled around work, family and church. Many of the mental health industry's clients have lives which revolve around therapy and doctors. This has to change, she said, pointing out that offering these people employment or volunteering opportunities can be just as beneficial as therapy and inpatient services the state can't afford anymore.
And while some program dollars will be cut, others are being shifted and blended. The proposed "hybrid" model for welfare distribution, which will replace the IBM-contracted services currently utilized by the state's welfare divisions, should actually bring money back to the mental health facilities, Goode said. With the confusion and errors caused by the privatization, many of the Hamilton Center's long-term patients found themselves bounced off Medicaid for failing to register or apply, largely because of issues stemming from their mental deficiencies. With the state bouncing the patients on and off Medicaid, the Hamilton Center found itself writing off $800,000 in services, he said.
"We can't wait for the hybrid," he said.
And in the long-run, helping the mentally ill recover reduces costs across many sectors, McCaffrey said. About 80 percent of the inmates inside Indiana's Department of Corrections have addiction problems, he said. But the prison system doesn't rehabilitate the addicts, it simply warehouses them.
"The way not to need a new prison is to provide better treatment to prevent its need," he said, noting the cost of a new prison is about $30 million.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To see more of The Tribune-Star or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tribstar.com/.
Copyright (c) 2010, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
Officials Discuss Future of Mental Health FundingOriginally from: http://www.nursinglink.monster.com/news/articles/13041-officials-discuss-future-of-mental-health-funding
View this post on my blog: http://travelnursesuccess.com/officials-discuss-future-of-mental-health-funding
No comments:
Post a Comment