Reforming Mental Health System Benefits All, Times Writes
Reform of the state's mental health system should be based on the premise that successfully treating people with mental illness improves the "economic and civic health of downtown areas," a Los Angeles Times editorial states. Addressing the problems of those with mental illness who "wander through city parks and plazas in the state," the editorial notes that "two reforms gone awry" have plagued the state's mental health system. The first is "deinstitutionalization," in which individuals with mental illness were released from state hospitals. The second is "realignment," in which responsibility for mental health care was shifted from the state to counties. But counties did not receive necessary resources from the state to provide treatment, and instead of encouraging "innovation," this transfer left counties with the neediest mentally ill populations unable to provide appropriate care. The editorial notes that a "political champion" is needed to enact "fundamental reform" of the mental health system and suggests that Assembly member Helen Thomson (D-Davis) may be such a leader. This week Thomson is meeting with legislators, business leaders and policy analysts to address the system's problems. Furthermore, the editorial notes that Thomson "hopes to introduce a bill this month" establishing a commission to help "shepherd the implementation of possible solutions," including subsidies for "stable housing for fragile populations" and expansion of community mental health services. The editorial concludes, "The reforms Thomson proposes are about more than merely boosting state spending on mental health care. They are aimed at improving the overall quality of civic life in the state" (Los Angeles Times, 1/8).
The state should put greater resources into care delivery for people with mental illness, Susan Smallwood writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. Smallwood, founder of the public education group Get Involved for Mental Health, examines Orange County's mental health system, under which her brother sought treatment after being diagnosed as "schizoaffective." In the county, she writes, care coordinators are overworked, resulting in many patients leaving the system "without getting assistance," and housing for mentally ill patients is in short supply, as the county only has 820 beds in a "board and care setting." Of the 570,000 Orange County residents with some form of mental illness, 85,000 of them are "severely mentally ill and disabled." The Health Care Agency's Behavioral Health Services supervises 30,000 of those people. Patients in this system receive a 15-minute consultation from a psychiatrist, followed by visits every four to six weeks, thus leaving no time for "intensive psychotherapy," Smallwood writes. Calling for greater financial support of mental health services, Smallwood concludes, "There is no rational justification for our community to continue to ignore these diseases. ... This nation spends hundreds of millions of dollars in fighting various illnesses such as AIDS, breast cancer, diabetes and heart disease. We need the same type of dedicated effort to fight the scourge of mental illness" (Smallwood, Los Angeles Times, 1/7).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.