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Miss. health facilities' funding cut
Published Thursday, July 9, 2009
NATCHEZ — A gubernatorial veto earlier this month has cut funding to the Southwest Mississippi Health Complex and 14 other such facilities across the state.
Now facility administrators and local officials are left wondering how the ramifications from those cuts will manifest.
Southwest Mississippi Mental Health Complex Executive Director Dr. Steve Ellis said it could be a little as one month before a $7 million veto, in the form of a line item from Senate Bill 2046, and a lack of budgeted Medicaid funding for 2010 could result in cuts of staff and service at the 15 facilities across the state.
Residents from Adams County and nine other surrounding counties are all serviced by the mental health complex in McComb, which offers a full range of mental health services.
“We need that funding,” Ellis said of all the facilities. “We can’t keep operating normally without it.”
Ellis said Gov. Haley Barbour’s veto cut a line item in a bill that allocated $7 million in funding that would have been allocated to a Medicaid match for the centers.
Additionally, as the 2010 budget is currently written, there is no match funding for any of the facilities that would allow the centers to get the Medicaid dollars they need to run.
Locally, county and law enforcement officials are concerned the lack of funding will have a negative impact in Adams County.
“There are a great number of people that rely on mental health services,” Adams County Supervisor Darryl Grennell said. “This state and this county cannot afford any kind of cut in those services.”
Grennell said he is concerned the lack of funding will result in those in need of mental health simply not being able to receive any help at all.
“And that’s something we just can’t have,” he said. “Help has to be available when people need it.”
And Adams County Sheriff Angie Brown said when residents in need of mental health don’t have access to assistance, they often end up in the county jail.
Brown said this scenario is mostly seen with those in need of mental health and who have a tendency for violence.
“If they’re violent, and there’s no place for them to get treatment, they end up in the county jail,” Brown said. “And they do not belong in jail, they need help. The staff is not trained to help them and the facility is not equipped to hold them.”
Tuesday the Adams County Board of Supervisors passed a motion that will send a resolution in Jackson asking Barbour to consider the matter at this week’s special session.
Sen. Bob Dearing said he will be at the special session in an attempt to have the matter brought up for consideration.
“We have to have funding for this, we can’t just ignore it,” Dearing said.
Comments
Posted by kpage1 (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 7:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The city, county jails will have to have a special wing just for these patients. Now who will have have to pay for their housing? And jail guards are not mental health professionals and have no clue how NOT to mistreat them, nor or are they qualified to dispense medicine. Hmmm. So guards dispense medicine to mental health patients who have committed no crime, yet are only jailed because there is no where else to send them. What a sad, sad shame.
Posted by reader (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Mental Health Department for the State of MS has a total budget (I believe) of around 280 million dollars. I am sure there are things they do (like pay a consultant over 1 million dollars last year for team building for employees and taking patients to Disneyworld) that they can cut to make up the difference in the 7 million. These are trying economic times and everyone has to make adjustments.
Posted by bellesouth (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gov. Haley Barbour obviously doesn't care about all Mississippians. Remember that! He's out there as a GOP presidential candidate??! Remember what he has not done for Mississippians!
Posted by reader (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 11:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
bellesouth-That is so ridiculous. He is not a presidential candidate. Governor Barbour is by far the best Governor we have ever had. There is plenty of room at the Department of Mental Health to absorb the cuts.
Posted by silly_willy_24_7 (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i wonder how much money the government could save if they would cut out the "crazy check" for those people that are simply too lazy to look for a job??
Posted by Hardcorps (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
bellesouth I sadly agree. His lobbying involvement is too important to him to think about us Mississippians.
Posted by ntz143 (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 11:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with the analogy about Barbour. He was a big hero to the state after Katrina until he started diverting funds on the coast that were supposed to be for residential redevelopment to his cronies in big business that have ties to the Port of Gulfport. Meanwhile, you have people STILL living in FEMA trailers. He has never made any bones about his commitment to special nterest...anyone remember that his lobbying firm's largest contract was with R.J. Reynolds? No wonder we had so much trouble getting an increase on the tax on cigarettes! Every veto he makes has a polical motive...its NOT about what is truly in this state's best interest, its all about keeping himself covered with the special interest groups he supports. A former staff member of his told me he had never seen anyone so openly biased (and he's been around a long time in Jackson). So all you people that voted for him, don't blame the legislature when his heavy-handed vetos start affecting YOUR daily life!
Posted by reader (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 12:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If you say that a former staff member of Barbour's said that, then you (or he/she) are lying. If you are telling the truth, then who was it? The Port of Gulfport is a pretty important piece of the economic puzzle on the Coast and cannot be allowed to flounder. You obviously listen too much to the Barney Frank/Maxine Waters group because that is exactly who you sound like. If someone is still in a Cottage, you need to look closely and that person's circumstance. If it wasn't for the Governor, the Legislature would have spent every dime this year and not help anything back for the coming years which will also be diifficult, thus preventing a huge budget hole like the 720 million dollar Musgrove deficit that he had to dig us out of when he took office in '03. Thank God for Barbour
Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 1:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
good job Gov Barbour
tell me this- What does this mental health service actually consist of?
counseling?
perscriptions?
so called professional therapists living off the government?
if your professional mental health services are so effective then open a private service, counsel and perscribe to patients, get them back in the work force, and they can pay their bills like the rest of us.........
the truth is that psycology and psychiatry are inexact "sciences" and not very effective in managing the problems of their patients.
For government to be footing the bill is not right and wasteful. Medical professionals should prove their effectiveness by getting their patients back into the work force which will enable them to pay their way like the rest of us that are willing to deal with our problems and pain - bear through our problems, bear our individual crosses,- and trudge through the everyday difficulties we all have, and keep our eyes on the light of hope and success EARNING A DECENT LIFE the good ole fashioned way- by accepting the basic fact of life that we must work for it.
Posted by Yeahuhuh (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 4:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Your lack of understanding of mental health care is moving Krogers. Nobody expected you to care or to know what to care about.
It reads like since you deem a "science" inexact then it does not exist and that is your excuse for another tax whine.
I think you are just showing out. If you sat next to someone long enough and could see they could not yet pull off a day's work then you would help them somehow.
Posted by brod (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why were the comments about Bubber West and The kids at the Civil War camp disabled? ND, not fair. Bubber West, everyone has heard that story so long, it's old news. The only thing I see wrong with the picture of the kids at camp is that there are no kids of color. Those very kids in that picture have to have Black History shoved down their throats at school. Get over it, the Civil War is "HISTORY." Just because you won't allow any comments, won't make it go away.
Posted by kpage1 (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 6:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Krogers, there are actually folk out there who have behavioral issues they can't solve themselves. (Doesn't make them weak, by the way.) There are also those who have mental illnesses who, without the help of those at Mental Health, would be roaming the streets, killing themselves or others, or who knows what. I could go on and on about this but I'll sum it by saying I'm glad you have no mental health issues or anyone around you, for that matter...(it's obvious you also know nothing about psychiatry or psychology). But for those who have loved ones suffering from mental problems or illnesses, you obviously are in no position to make a judgement about them, for you, nor anyone you know has these issues. You have no clue what it is to be one of these suffering folk.
I'm usually in agreement with you Mr. Rogers, but this time I'm defending those who are the least defended in our society. Your post simply explains why.
Posted by southernwoman (anonymous) on July 9, 2009 at 6:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you kpage.
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