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Bill to aid mental health
Published Friday, February 22, 2008
NATCHEZ — Mental illness can be devastating for any family. And the facilities to treat the mentally ill in Adams County only compound the problem.
Those in immediate need of mental help face two scenarios.
They may go to a state-run facility, if a bed is available, or they face being housed in the county jail.
But hopefully a new bill, authored by state Sen. Bob Dearing, will change this problem.
“To house them in the county jail is unacceptable,” Dearing said.
Bill 37 would provide $10 million for Natchez Regional Hospital to add a psychiatric ward.
Dearing said he regularly receives calls from the family members of the mentally ill practically begging for his help.
“These people do not want their loved ones to end up in jail,” he said. “They need to be in a hospital.”
The deadline for the bill to be voted on is approximately three weeks away.
Dearing said if the bill gets out of committee, it will then go to the senate, house and then needs to be signed by the governor.
And while that may sound like a lengthy process, Dearing said, if passed, the bill — to be funded by bonds — would become effective on July 1.
Dearing said he has confidence in the bill’s success.
But Natchez resident Opal Vines is not waiting until July to find out what will happen to the bill. Vines was recently appointed to the Southwest Mental Health Board of Commissioners.
Just after her appointment was made official Vines traveled to Jackson to meet with speaker of the house Billy McCoy to discuss bill 37.
Vines said the meeting went very well.
“He was very receptive to our needs,” she said.
And the needs of the county are very apparent.
There is no system of aid in Adams County.
But the lack of available help in Adams County is not unique.
Supervisor Darryl Grennell said at a recent conference of the National Association of Counties — a group of which he is a member — the issue of lack of mental health assistance was broadly discussed.
Grennell said several people at the conference also expressed strong disapproval of the storage of mentally ill individuals in their county jails.
“This is a nationwide problem,” he said.
Grennell said the presence of a mental health facility in the local hospital would be an enormous asset to the county’s residents.
“This is long over due for the area,” he said. “This is something the county needs.”
Comments
Posted by ntzmom (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 1:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is extremely needed and I hope they pass the bill.
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 5:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That's right, ntzmom. A drug rehab wouldn't be a bad idea, either.
Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 7:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ntz has needed this for quite some time . I'm glad to see the ball rolling. Keep up the good work , Opal .We need more people like you .
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Lord have mercy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxgNKNEtk...
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ladies you need to always have someone with you when you are out drinking; don't go out at night alone. Always have a designated driver. You don't want to wind up drunk, under arrest, and there with an officer all alone. All policemen are not good guys; some are, but some aren't, just try to not get yourself in the position to find out who is and who isn't. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/2...
Posted by mike8427 (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 11:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This sounds like a good idea, but the funding to operate a facility needs to be clarified. Sounds like the $10 mil is just for establishing the facility. I don't know the figures, but I would bet most mental illness are in the lower income community. Thus the bill would have to come from Govt/taxpayers. Thats not a bad thing, but the hospital is having hard enough time with funding now, I think this needs to be thought thru and planned before we spend alot of money on a facility which may not last due to funding. Does anyone know more about this?
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 1:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
OMG peace007!!!!! That clip was frightening. The girl might have been drunk as a skunk, but why the hell did the cop think a 125-130 pound girl was a threat? Handcuffed behind her back at that? How do we know this stuff doesn't happen everyday with nobody believing the girl because she's been drinking? I say stay home to drink or get someone else to drive. It just ain't worth it.
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I know kpage, and it happened in Shreveport, LA. It's very disturbing.
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 2:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Spotted in Mississippi http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?i...
Posted by djarum_black (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 5:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
mike8427 wrote:
" I would bet most mental illness are in the lower income community"
and you would lose, too. Mental illness may be as simple as anxiety and depression, or as severe as schizophrenia and dissociative disorders. All people can be affected by mental health conditions, regardless of income level, just as easily as they could be affected by STDs and the flu. Income level and societal role has nothing to do with it.
Posted by eracismlady (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 5:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Mental disorders have been found to be common, with over a third of people in most countries reporting sufficient criteria at some point in their life.[30]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_illn...
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 11:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What about doctors to treat the patients? Do they have any in mind? Last time I checked there weren't any psychiatrist in Natchez, only psycologist.
Btw, Natchez Regional used to have a psychiatric floor, but it may have been Jeff Davis Hospital then. If I remember correctly, it was on the 7th floor...I don't know, it could have been 4th floor, top floor anyway...but not that senior psych treatment program.
A drug/alcohol rehab would be great, and much needed in this town.
Posted by grrbrts (anonymous) on February 22, 2008 at 11:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Let me see...the FDA considers...lets say one medication as non-addictive...now...the subject then becomes hooked, withdrawn, addicted, etc...but that really is addictive...now then...it takes months to get one off the medication...that equals money in the Doc's pocketbook...that is not a class of folks...that's crazy...or has the secret...leaked out already...seems some...docs...have cut tail and ran as well...I fear for these people...and yes...it is extremely needed.
Posted by amyrenene (anonymous) on February 23, 2008 at 8:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree that we do need a mental health treatment facility here in Natchez. Mental illness affects people of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds. It's not just the "lower class" people. There have been doctors, lawyers, actors, health care workers, teachers, and many more who have suffered from mental illness. One study I've read about...and that's been years ago, may have changed since then, but stated that one in five individuals suffer from some form of mental illness, whether they are managed/functional or have to be treated on an inpatient basis. So, statistically, how many people in this area would be affected by mental illness?
Posted by peaceout (anonymous) on March 2, 2008 at 8:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
figures eracismlady would turn up on a piece about mental health.
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