Rep. Guinta Blasts N.H. Budget

Concord — The biennial budget passed recently by the Republican-controlled New Hampshire House was denounced on Saturday as “appalling and embarrassing” by a prominent Republican: Rep. Frank Guinta, a former Manchester mayor who represents New Hampshire’s 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives.



Guinta, who called for increased state and federal funding for mental health care, spoke at lunchtime to several hundred people at the annual conference of the New Hampshire affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Guinta noted that a member of his family had such an illness and described himself as “not just a friend but an advocate who will stand shoulder to shoulder with you every day.”



Guinta’s sentiments were similar to those expressed at the session’s opening by mental health care advocates and in an end-of-the day speech by Gov. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, who noted that she inherited “a mental health system that is deeply stretched for a whole variety of reasons, not the least of which is lack of funding.”



In an interview, Guinta reiterated his criticism of the budget produced by the Republican-controlled House. “I’m angry, I’m frustrated, I’m appalled,” he said. “The mental health patients in this state are not being treated properly.”



But Guinta said that he had not approached GOP leaders with his criticism. “I have not talked to the House,” he said. “I was watching the process unfold.”



State Rep. Jack Flanagan, the House Republican leader, declined to respond directly to Guinta’s comments. “We’re doing the best we can with the revenue that we have and the liabilities that we have,” Flanagan said. He noted that the Health and Human Services Department budget, which includes mental health care, was less than that proposed by Hassan but up from the previous budget.



He said the House had proposed giving HHS Commissioner Nick Toumpas the authority to move unrestricted funds to address areas of greatest need.



Guinta said he expected the New Hampshire Senate, which also has a Republican majority, to produce a better budget. “I think my role is to provide information and do everything I can to make sure that every state senator understands the true need in the state.”



Hassan noted that the budget she sent to the Legislature included coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment for Medicaid recipients, the addition of 10 beds at the state-operated New Hampshire Hospital, support for community-level mobile crisis and high-level mental health care teams and funding for housing, peer and employment support for the mentally ill.



Ken Norton, the executive director of NAMI-NH, itemized cuts in the House budget that would wound mental health care, including a $1.5 million annual reduction in spending at community mental health centers and a delay in the addition of 10 beds at the New Hampshire Hospital, which cares for patients who pose a danger to themselves or others and had planned to place the additional beds in an intake ward.



Robert MacLeod, the hospital’s chief executive, said the delay was aimed at saving $2.3 million but would slow efforts to reduce a persistent backlog of mentally ill patients stranded in hospital emergency rooms around the state while they wait for psychiatric care to become available at his hospital. During April, about 12 patients have been waiting each day. In the past, the backlog of patients without psychiatric care has sometimes reached 40, he said.



Diane Allen, a nurse at New Hampshire Hospital, noted than another proposed cut — $2 million by eliminating nurse supervisor positions — would hurt care by pulling nurses away from patients to perform managerial duties.



Guinta said after his speech that he believed the budget should add at least 20 beds at New Hampshire Hospital, which currently has 180 beds, but otherwise declined to make specific suggestions for changes.



Instead, he emphasized his view that in the long run the state needs to move care from the hospital into community facilities, and that some of those facilities should be developed and operated by the private sector, which he said could do so more cheaply.



In an interview, Norton said an increased role for the private sector could be discussed: “New Hampshire has always relied on very strong public-private partnerships for mental health.”



In his speech, Guinta said that in May he and U.S. Rep. Ann Kuster, the Hopkinton Democrat who represents Upper Valley towns and the rest of New Hampshire’s 2nd District in Congress, plan to jointly sponsor a mental health summit. The event seems likely to be held May 11 in Concord, but arrangements are not yet final, according to a member of Guinta’s staff.



Also at Saturday’s conference, NAMI-NH recognized Lebanon Police Lt. Matt Isham for his work supporting the development of the Halls of Hope Mental Health Court, which provides treatment to offenders with serious mental illness, and organizing crisis intervention training for members of his department.







Rick Jurgens can be reached at rjurgens@vnews.com or 603-727-3229.





