Advocates say mental health care in crisis in West Virginia

From WVNS-TV:

South Charleston, W. Va. -- Advocacy groups representing mental health consumers, families and the homeless gathered at an emergency meeting Feb. 7 in South Charleston to raise awareness of the growing crisis in mental health care in West Virginia and to propose recommendations to address the problems.

“People are hurting and the state is paying too much money for bad results,” said Debbie Toler, executive director of the West Virginia Mental Health Consumers Association. “Too many of us have waited too long for the system to be fixed, but we can’t wait any longer. Gov. Manchin and the Legislature must take action soon.”

Several dozen people who attended the emergency meeting discussed the problems in the system that are causing many people with mental illness to be unable to receive the services they need.

Because of this, many of them are ending up in hospital emergency rooms, being committed to overcrowded state psychiatric hospitals, landing in jail, finding themselves homeless, turning to substance abuse or committing suicide.

“More than a decade ago, the state had such a good system of community-based mental health services that the state psychiatric hospitals had empty beds,” said Ted Johnson, chairman of the West Virginia Mental Health Planning Council. “We need to get back to a system like that.”

During the emergency meeting, participants agreed on these recommendations:

•Mental health services in West Virginia are truly in a state of crisis. With more than a decade of studies, reports, commissions and failed solutions, this crisis needs the personal involvement of Governor Joe Manchin to provide the leadership necessary to solve the challenges facing services to people with a mental illness.

•The state Supreme Court should allow Judge Duke Bloom to proceed with hearings to examine conditions at state psychiatric hospitals based on a report from the court-appointed Ombudsman.

•The state should fund the expansion of peer support, wellness recovery plans and other community-based support programs that have proven successful in helping people with mental illness live independently within our communities.

•A portion of the funding to rebuild the community-based services should provide $1.5 million (plus the federal match) for three consecutive years of equal, across-the-board Medicaid rate increases for “clinic and rehabilitation” codes is an important first step in re-establishing community-based behavioral health services across the state.

•Medicaid coverage for people with mental illness should be expanded to include essential community supports as covered by other state Medicaid programs.

•A continuum of care needs to be established so that a broad array of services is available to support the mentally ill. These should not just be bricks and mortar but should include peer support, clinic and rehabilitation services, residential care, group homes, substance abuse treatment and individual practitioners.

Additional comments on these recommendations and other aspects of the mental health crisis in West Virginia are welcome at the Website, www.wvcrisis.org, which includes a blog.