Jimmie E. Gates

Clarion Ledger

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health will close more than 30 beds serving psychiatric patients and its entire male chemical dependency program as a result of pending state budget cuts approved by the Legislature earlier this year.

The 29-bed Acute Medical Psychiatric Service unit at the state Hospital at Whitfield is closing and five beds for psychiatric patients at South Mississippi State Hospital will no longer be used. The decision comes after lawmakers slashed $8.3 million from the department's budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

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Wendy Bailey, director of the Bureau of Outreach, Planning and Development at the Department of Mental Health, said DMH operates 12 programs throughout the state, providing services to people with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders.

On Tuesday, the Department of Mental Health released some of the services that will be impacted by budget cuts, including:

Mississippi State Hospital – Closure of the 29-bed Acute Medical Psychiatric Service. This unit served 66 people in FY15. The Medical Psychiatric Service provides services to people who have a major mental disorder and a complex medical condition that requires close monitoring and supervision. No additional admissions will be made to this service.

– Closure of the 29-bed Acute Medical Psychiatric Service. This unit served 66 people in FY15. The Medical Psychiatric Service provides services to people who have a major mental disorder and a complex medical condition that requires close monitoring and supervision. No additional admissions will be made to this service. Mississippi State Hospital – Closure of the 42-bed Male Chemical Dependency Unit which serves people in need of treatment services for substance use disorders. This unit served 429 males in FY15. Treatment includes a specialized medical detoxification program, basic medical care, group therapy, counseling, family education, motivational interviewing and introduction to 12-Step Recovery. MSH will admit and treat only those people who have already been involuntarily committed and waiting for services. MSH services and facilities will not be available for any additional male individuals committed by a court for chemical dependency services.

– Closure of the 42-bed Male Chemical Dependency Unit which serves people in need of treatment services for substance use disorders. This unit served 429 males in FY15. Treatment includes a specialized medical detoxification program, basic medical care, group therapy, counseling, family education, motivational interviewing and introduction to 12-Step Recovery. MSH will admit and treat only those people who have already been involuntarily committed and waiting for services. MSH services and facilities will not be available for any additional male individuals committed by a court for chemical dependency services. East Mississippi State Hospital – Closure of the 25-bed Male Chemical Dependency Unit which serves individuals in need of treatment services for substance use disorders. This unit served 330 people in FY15. EMSH will admit and treat only those people who have already been involuntarily committed. EMSH services and facilities will not be available for any additional male individuals committed by a court for chemical dependency services.

– Closure of the 25-bed Male Chemical Dependency Unit which serves individuals in need of treatment services for substance use disorders. This unit served 330 people in FY15. EMSH will admit and treat only those people who have already been involuntarily committed. EMSH services and facilities will not be available for any additional male individuals committed by a court for chemical dependency services. South Mississippi State Hospital – Closure of five psychiatric beds which serve people in need of treatment for a serious mental illness. These five beds serve more than 80 people each year. The closure of these five beds has the potential to increase the waiting list for the 15 counties in SMSH’s catchment area.

– Closure of five psychiatric beds which serve people in need of treatment for a serious mental illness. These five beds serve more than 80 people each year. The closure of these five beds has the potential to increase the waiting list for the 15 counties in SMSH’s catchment area. Ellisville State School – Discontinuation of the provision of early intervention services, which will result in the loss of special instruction services to 128 children between birth to age 3 . Special Instruction is designed to enhance development through routine-based intervention and parent training/coaching in the child’s natural environment.

As a result of the closure of the Male Chemical Dependency Units at MSH and EMSH, there will no longer be state-operated male chemical dependency beds available in the state, said DMH spokesman Adam Moore. Other treatment options are available through DMH Certified Providers that offer primary residential services for adult males on a sliding scale fee, Moore said. These facilities will be able to work with chancery courts or people under an alcohol and drug commitment order.

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The majority of these services are offered by local community mental health centers throughout the state.

Moore said other DMH programs are currently evaluating the impact of the budget cuts. Any additional budget cuts will result in additional cuts to services. The agency is also working to determine the extent to which programs will be affected by Senate Bill 2362, which swept funding from DMH’s budget for fees paid to certain agencies.

“It has been a very difficult process to determine how to take these cuts,” said DMH Executive Director Diana Mikula. “The agency’s main focus has been and will continue to be ensuring the health and welfare of the people currently receiving services. Reduced funding requires a reduction in staff which requires a reduction in service so that the safety of people served and staff is not put at risk due to understaffed services. Since 2008, DMH has been reducing the number of employees working in programs across the state. In 2008, DMH had 8,971 employees. In 2015, DMH had 7,371. That is a difference of approximately 1,600 employees.”

This is not the first time DMH has had to reduce services.

Over the last several years, the number of adult psychiatric beds at MSH and EMSH has been reduced by 500. MSH consolidated 11 nursing home facilities into 10. The consolidation resulted in the closure of 36 beds. In June 2010, DMH closed a 16-bed unit at the Mississippi Adolescent Center in Brookhaven for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities, leaving 32 beds. In 2009 and 2010, DMH closed several early intervention programs across the state. The programs were designed to enhance the development of infants, toddlers and young children with disabilities or children who are at risk for developing disabilities.

“The people we serve are the heart of everything we do, which is why cutting services and supports is so difficult,” said Mikula.

Bailey said DMH's state funding for FY17 was cut about 4.4 percent or $8.3 million.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Buck Clarke, R-Hollandale, said the budget approved for the Department of Mental Health cuts $4 million, but at the same time, through the state’s new performance-based budgeting process, $5.1 million in expenses were removed, leaving an excess of about $1.1 million. Overall, the $8.3 million budget reduction cited by Department of Mental Health includes the percentage reductions ordered by Gov. Phil Bryant to most state agencies’ budgets, Clarke said.

Clarke said he doesn’t believe the Department of Mental Health has to shut down some of the programs based upon budget figures.

"DMH cannot absorb a cut of that magnitude without a decrease in services," Bailey said. "The majority of the services and supports that will be impacted are provided using 100 percent general funds. Absorbing this cut is further complicated by the fact that DMH received a 1.5 percent cut and a 0.43 percent cut in FY16. In response to the required budget cuts over the past several years, DMH has focused on impacting the least number of people in the least negative way."

Attorney General Jim Hood has criticized lawmakers for cutting mental health and other budgets.

Hood said his office has returned about $3 billion to the state through legal action against what he calls unscrupulous corporations and each time he sends a check to the Legislature he includes a letter asking that a portion of the money be used toward serving the needs of the mentally ill.

"Again, our leadership has closed its eyes and inexplicably decided to actually cut funds for mental health rather than increase them," Hood said. "The result of this ignorance is staggering."

"Let me be clear: just as bridges will begin to collapse in our state, mental health is a public safety crisis that is primed to explode," Hood said.

Contact Jimmie E. Gates at (601) 961-7212 or jgates@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.